MANILA — Malacanang on Thursday said that it would leave House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s request to look into the possibility of questioning the validity of the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
“Hindi naman po sa akin dinirect ni Speaker Alvarez iyong kanyang request (Speaker Alvarez did not direct his request to me). I will leave it to the Solicitor General to provide the response to the request of the House Speaker,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing.
Alvarez made this request after it was disclosed in an impeachment hearing that Sereno was “unfit” for the top magistrate post based on her psychiatric test results.
He said if Sereno’s appointment was deemed invalid, then the impeachment would be “moot and academic” since “there is nobody to impeach in the first place.”
Sereno was appointed as chief justice in August 2012 by then President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
The House of Representatives justice committee is set to vote next week if there is probable cause in the impeachment complaint lodged against Sereno.
It wrapped up its impeachment deliberations Tuesday. (PNA)
