Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves yesterday said the allegations raised against Speaker Alvarez by the so called Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment (FATE), are FAKE and utterly baseless and malicious.
He said the allegation that the Speaker is manipulating the outcome of the impeachment hearings because he has an ax to grind against Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno for testifying against him in the PIATCO (Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc.) case is FAKE and a mere fabrication.
By alleging that the Speaker is manipulating outcome, ID is like saying that all congressmen are like puppets and the House is just a rubber stamp which is never true.
“They should rather be called FAKE because based on the information I have, it appears that Sereno never testified against Speaker Alvarez in the Piatco case. Apparently it is one organization that sprouted suddenly like a mushroom and solely meant to serve the interest of Sereno,” said Teves.
He said that contrary to the group’s allegations, the impeachment case against Sereno had nothing to do with the Piatco case per se.
“But it has something to do with the income that Sereno earned as counsel in case that she allegedly did not declare in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN), like the allegations raised in the impeachment case of the late CJ Renato Corona,” Teves said.
Atty. Larry Gadon, the complainant against Sereno, alleged that Sereno ever declared the estimated US$745,000 or P37 million she earned as a private lawyer in the PIATCO case, among others.
Teves decried the FATE statement as malicious too. He pointed out that if Speaker Alvarez really wanted Sereno impeached, he could have mustered enough numbers to get the 1/3 vote of the House to automatically bring the case to the Senate for trial.
“Yet, it did not happen. Instead, the House Committee on Justice decided to give CJ Sereno an opportunity to cross examine the witnesses and rebut the evidence against her. How can FATE now say the Speaker is manipulating the impeachment hearings?” he said.
On the contrary, he noted that in various interviews Speaker Alvarez categorically said he does not want the House to rush its decision on the impeachment case against Sereno and that the Justice committee must carefully weigh if the evidence presented would warrant her impeachment.
“The only thing that Speaker Alvarez really insisted is that Sereno herself should do the cross-examination of the witnesses against her, not her lawyers. But there is nothing wrong with that,” Teves said.
He noted that the position of Speaker Alvarez is appropriate considering that several SC justices have reportedly expressed willingness to testify against Sereno. Atty. Gadon had claimed that up to six SC justices may testify against the Chief Justice in the impeachment hearings.
“It may be awkward for ordinary lawyers to cross-examine justices of the Supreme Court, which exercises disciplinary powers over law practitioners,” Teves said.
Besides, he pointed out, Sereno is in the best position to examine the evidence against her which includes certified documents issued by the Supreme Court.
“If CJ Sereno really has nothing to hide, then she should not hesitate to face her accusers and instead welcome the opportunity to prove them wrong,” he said.
Instead of issuing statements, which only serve to muddle the impeachment case against Sereno, he said, FATE should attend the hearings and find out if there is really enough ground or not to warrant the impeachment of the Chief Justice.
“Any unfounded allegations coming from FATE or any other similar group is irresponsible and doing the entire nation a disservice. They only serve to strengthen suspicions that a coordinated PR campaign is underway. (CONGRESS-PR)
