FALSE: Justice Leonen removed from his post

At a glance

• Claim: Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen has been removed from his post.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: The House of Representatives only referred the impeachment complaint against Leonen to the committee on justice. On May 27, the committee voted to dismiss the complaint.
• Why we fact-checked this: The video making the false claim has gained 17,311 views, as of writing.

Complete details

YouTube channel “Showbiz Fanaticz” uploaded a video on May 19, falsely claiming Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen has been removed from his post.

The video was entitled, “JUST IN: Matapos ang PANDARAYANG Ginawa Noong 2016 Election| Justice LEONEN, SINIBAK na sa PWESTO!” (Just in: After the fraud committed in the 2016 elections | Justice Leonen removed from his post!)

The video has gained 17,311 views, as of writing.

This claim is false.

On May 18, the House of Representatives during its plenary session only referred the impeachment complaint against Leonen to the House committee on justice, which will then hold its hearings to determine the complaint’s form and substance.

The claim was still being posted as of May 28. On May 27, the House justice committee had already voted to dismiss the complaint against Leonen.

The narrator of the video read through a May 18 INQUIRER.net article entitled, “Impeach raps vs SC’s Leonen referred to House justice committee.”

The video omitted the section of the article wherein Ako Bicol Representative Alfredo Garbin Jr., vice chairman of the House justice committee, explained that “once the complaint has been referred to their panel, the committee still has to determine the sufficiency of the complaint both in form and in substance.” He said once this is done, the committee would still need to get Leonen’s response regarding the impeachment call.

The complaint was submitted on December 7, 2020, to the Office of the House Secretary-General by Edwin Cordevilla, who identified himself as secretary-general of the Filipino League of Advocates for Good Government. It was endorsed by Ilocos Norte 2nd District Representative Angelo Marcos Barba, cousin of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

The complaint was earlier assailed by over 100 members of the University of the Philippines Law faculty as “baseless.”

The Marcos camp failed to force Leonen to inhibit from the electoral protest case by Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo. The electoral protest was unanimously dismissed in February 2021 by the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

“Showbiz Fanaticz” has been fact-checked by Rappler multiple times. Click the links below to read more on their false claims:

• FALSE: Del Rosario, Robredo back out of debate with Roque
• FALSE: Zarate, Elago arrested during Labor Day protests
• FALSE: Joy Belmonte ensures Angel Locsin will pay for community pantry mishap
• FALSE: Guevarra confirms Trillanes will be jailed again
• FALSE: Lacson says Makabayan bloc members are NPA

Rappler also debunked a similar false claim in March 2021. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

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