The impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen has galvanized lawyers and others in the academe and human rights community, to stand by the fierce dissenter and the institution as a whole.
The accusation that Leonen has no Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) from when he was a law professor in the University of the Philippines (UP) is a realization of the fear of many that the Sereno ouster made everyone in the Supreme Court, or the judiciary as a whole, vulnerable.
What makes the impeachment complaint against Leonen different from the impeachment and eventual quo warranto ouster of former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno?
Justice reporter Lian Buan talks to Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo, the former national president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), about the impeachment complaint against Leonen and what it means for the judiciary and the rule of law.
“If Justice Leonen successfully hurdles this, it would really strengthen the judiciary and I hope that will happen because we need the justices to be free from pressure, free from stress, in deciding these very important cases, moving forward,” said Fajardo.
Watch this Rappler Talk on Wednesday, December 16, 6pm. – Rappler.com
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