MANILA — Members of the House justice committee on Tuesday demanded that lawyer Larry Gadon, complainant in the impeachment case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, keep his mouth shut and avoid making statements that cast aspersions to the committee and its proceedings.
During the continuation of the impeachment hearing against Sereno, Ako-Bicol Partylist Rep. Alfredo Garbin chastised Gadon for his statements and assertions coursed through media that affect the “integrity of this impeachment committee.”
Garbin was referring to Gadon’s claim that an “oligarch” plans to bribe senators with PHP200 million in exchange for the acquittal of the top magistrate from the impeachment case filed against her.
“I advise Mr. Gadon to keep his mouth shut if he cannot verify or reveal to us this oligarch,” Garbin said.
Garbin also slammed Gadon for saying in earlier interviews that impeachment deliberations would be done before the year ends and giving assumptions that he already knows the decision of the impeachment committee.
Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop said Gadon’s claims cast aspersions on the independence of each and every member of the committee.
Acop likened the complainant to the character in the children’s classic “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”
Quezon City Rep. Vicente Crisologo threatened to cite Gadon in contempt if he continues to make unsubstantiated claims before media interviews.
“Please shut up your mouth para naman hindi mapasama yung proceedings dito,” Crisologo said.
Gadon, in his defense, explained that in the radio interview he claimed that the senators would not be bribed because “they are dignified persons and will put the county first before anything else.”
1-Ang Edukasyon Partylist Rep. Salvador Belaro directed Gadon to write within five days his explanation regarding these bribery allegations and other claims. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
