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Marvic Leonen, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. (File photo by Philippine Dailiy Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines – Law deans and professors from across the Philippines called for the impeachment case brought against Supreme Court Associate Marvic Leonen to be dismissed, as they described the complaint as “unfounded and unfounded.”
The group voiced support for Leonen, himself a former dean of the University of the Philippines Law School, and said the case was an attempt to remove a Supreme Court judge who, according to the group, was against of the “ambitions of a privileged few.”
“The impeachment lawsuit filed against him on December 7, 2020, with its unfounded and unsubstantiated accusations, must be dismissed for absolute lack of merit,” the group said in a statement Saturday.
“Beyond the complaint unfairly directed against a decent public official, the impeachment is a palpable attack on judicial independence, in the attempt to remove an Associate Judge for being an obstacle to the ambitions of a privileged few.”
Edwin Cordevilla, Secretary General of the Philippine League of Good Governance Defenders, presented the impeachment case to Atty. Larry Gadon assists him and the representative of Ilocos Norte, Angelo Barba, supports him in the House of Representatives.
Cordevilla argued that Leonen allegedly lacked integrity in his alleged failure to file his Statement of Assets and Liabilities, a notion that he clung to when quoting a newspaper column.
The complainant also accused Leonen of being in favor of the Liberal Party, which has been the target of the current administration for anything under the sun, and the Supreme Court judge allegedly always voted in favor of the political group.
“Judge Marvic Leonen is a respected and distinguished colleague in the legal academy,” said the group of educators. “His stellar academic credentials, extensive history of service to the cause of the underserved, disadvantaged and marginalized, his experience in alternative legal defense litigation, as well as his commitment to studying and teaching the law validates his place in high office. . .
The group also questioned the timing of the case, as it came while the Philippines is still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and is only recovering from the Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses.
“The impeachment lawsuit against Judge Leonen could not have been filed at a more inopportune time, in the context of overlapping national emergencies,” the group said. “It presents an unnecessary distraction of the most urgent and persistent caliber of intellectual discourse.”
JPV
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