Palace respects House’s move on Sereno’s impeachment complaint

August 31, 2017

Malacanang said on Thursday that it respects any action of the House of Representatives on the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella noted that a verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any citizen upon a resolution or endorsement by any member of the House of Representatives.

"The Executive Branch respects the separation of powers; and being their co-equal, we recognize the exclusive power of the House of Representatives to initiate all cases of impeachment," he said.

At least 25 congressmen have endorsed the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon against Sereno.

He has accused the chief magistrate of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, commission of corrupt practices and other high crimes.

Gadon alleged that Sereno failed to declare P37 million in lawyer’s fees in her net worth when she was still a counsel of the government on its case against the contractor of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

He also accused Sereno of buying a brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser worth P5 million as her personal vehicle using state funds.

Gadon claimed that the chief justice issued questionable resolutions as these did not pass through the en banc. Celerina Monte/DMS