MANILA, Philippines – House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday, October 23, denied “orchestrating” the impeachment against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, saying it was all “public relations” work to “derail from the issue.”

“What they’re doing, it’s clear that the evidence [against Sereno] is strong. First of all, FATE (Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment) only showed up now. It was made specifically for Sereno’s impeachment,” said Alvarez in a radio interview over dzMM.

He was referring to the group which, over the weekend, said Alvarez wanted “revenge” against Sereno. “It seems that (Alvarez’s) investment in her impeachment is driven by something other than a desire to exact accountability,” said FATE spokesperson Jo Perez.

The “revenge” was supposedly because Sereno testified against Alvarez when the Philippine Airport Terminals Corporation (Piatco) deal was being questioned. Alvarez said the case was eventually dismissed – by the Ombudsman then. He also clarified that Sereno did not testify against him, since the case never reached the Sandiganbayan.

Sereno was private counsel for the Philippine government then. Her earnings from the PIATCO case is among the cases in the impeachment complaint against her, because she supposedly did not declare this in her State of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.

The PIATCO deal happened years before she was appointed a Supreme Court justice. Her team of lawyers argue that therefore, she could not have declared the income in its entirety.

The House committee on justice is still deliberating on an impeachment complaint filed against Sereno by lawyer Larry Gadon. Thus far, the complaint has been deemed sufficient in form, substance, and grounds. It will next determine probable cause.

Gadon accuses Sereno of allegedly making decisions without the Supreme Court en banc’s knowledge and allegedly authorizing trips for her staff, on top of supposed dishonesty in her SALN. Sereno’s lawyers argue the charges against her are either baseless or not impeachable offenses.

Although Alvarez himself has not participated directly in the impeachment case – he neither endorsed the complaint nor participated in committee deliberations – he has said in the past that there seems to be substantial evidence against Sereno.

“It just so happens that I am the Speaker and I cannot just dismiss the impeachment case against her. This should go through the process at the House of Representatives, go through hearings at the Committee on Justice,” said Alvarez.

He has also argued against Sereno’s team’s request that her lawyers be allowed to cross-examine witnesses before the committee. Alvarez and committee chairman Reynaldo Umali both think it must be Sereno herself who must do the cross-examination.

The Speaker said before that he did not want to rush the impeachment complaint, even if, he said, they have the numbers to push it directly to the Senate, which will then sit as an impeachment court.

Gadon, meanwhile, said the “yellow” FATE is just “muddling the issues” to distract from the “merits of the case.” “FATE is typical yellow propaganda,” said Gadon in a text messages to reporters.

“Yellow” refers to members or sympathizers of the once-ruling Liberal Party, whom Duterte and his supporters have alleged to be behind efforts to discredit the administration.

“The yellows are good only for slogans and hypocritical acronyms, FATE? Who are they? Their comments do not matter, no one believes them except the brainwashed and indoctrinated yellows,” added Gadon. – Rappler.com