The House of Representatives justice committee has found probable cause to impeach Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Voting 38 with 2 abstentions on Thursday, majority members of the House panel affirmed probable cause in allegations that Sereno committed culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and other high crimes.
Lawyer Lorenzo Gadon hurled these allegations against the country’s top magistrate in an impeachment complaint he filed at the House of Representatives late last year.
Earlier, House justice committee chair Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali said they are set to craft the articles of impeachment and vote on the final committee report by next week.
Thereafter, the articles of impeachment and committee report would be presented before the House plenary for voting.
If the report gets one-third votes of the entire House members, the lower chamber would then transmit the impeachment complaint to the Senate, which would consequently turn into an impeachment court.
Sereno, who is currently on an indefinite leave, is also facing a quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court that seeks to nullify her appointment for allegedly being unqualified to the position.
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