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MANILA, Philippines – Hearings on the impeachment lawsuit against Deputy Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen could begin next year as there is no more time to address it as there is only one week left before Congress suspends your shoot for the holiday season. Vice President Rufus Rodríguez said Wednesday.
Congress is scheduled for a recess on Dec. 18, said Rodríguez, who serves as vice chair of the House justice panel.
“I think there will be no more time. We will already have our recess sometime on December 18, so we do not have material time at this time, “he said in a media forum.
“Therefore, it will probably come next year for the determination of form and substance. Looking at our calendar, I don’t see that we can start the hearings this holiday season, “he added.
Congress will resume its session on January 18, 2021.
Indictment procedures
Explaining the impeachment process, Rodríguez said that after the impeachment complaint has been filed with the Secretary General of the House of Representatives, it will be referred to the Prime Minister, Lord Allan Velasco.
Velasco has 10 days from receipt to include it in the agenda.
The complaint will be forwarded to the House justice committee, which will have the task of determining whether it meets the requirements of form and substance.
Once it is determined that the complaint is sufficient in form and substance, formal hearings can begin, Rodríguez said.
“We can probably decide on the form, we can decide on the substance. But the committee’s actual hearing will be next year, ”he said.
The House cannot rush its deliberations on the complaint against Leonen because he is a member of the highest court in the country, Rodríguez said.
He assured that the committee would give Leonen enough time and opportunity to defend himself against the accusations against him.
In the House of Representatives an indictment was filed against Deputy Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen for “guilty violation of the Constitution and treason of public trust.”
The impeachment complaint was filed by Edwin Cordevilla, general secretary of the Philippine League of Good Governance Defenders, who was assisted by attorney Larry Gadon. It was endorsed by Angelo Marcos Barba, Representative of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte.
The complaint said Leonen “clearly lacks integrity because he failed to file his Assets and Liabilities Statement (SALN),” citing a newspaper column that claimed Leonen failed to file his SALN for 15 years.
He added that Leonen has also been “negligent and incompetent” for allegedly failing to resolve 37 cases in the Supreme Court in violation of the constitutional mandate that cases must be resolved within 24 months from the time they are presented for resolution.
Leonen, for his part, said he trusts that members of the House of Representatives “will do the right thing” in the impeachment complaint filed against him. [ac]
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