Congress has been told by President Rodrigo Duterte to “fast track” the impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, saying the chief judge was “bad for the Philippines” and should be kicked out, The Manila Times Online reported.
Duterte made the above remark in Davao City on Monday (April 9) before flying to China.
“I will see to (it) after that I will request Congress (to) go into impeachment right away. The two entities can hear it simultaneously. They (Supreme Court) can proceed with the quo warranto (petition),” said the president.
He added that he would ask Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to fast-track the impeachment as “she (Sereno) is bad for the Philippines”.
Duterte has persistently denied he had any role in the impeachment complaint against Sereno which was filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon and approved by the House justice committee in March.
The impeachment complaint accuses Sereno of 11 acts of culpable violation of the Constitution, nine acts of betrayal of public trust, four acts of other high crimes and three acts of corruption.
She was also accused of manipulating the screening process for court appointees, including undermining the appointment of Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza.
Sereno was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court by former president Benigno Aquino Jr in 2012 after the impeachment trial which resulted to the ousting of the late chief justice, Renato Corona.
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