Justice Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre will testify in Sereno impeachment

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is set to testify in the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in the House of Representatives on the issue of alleged delay in the transfer of cases against terror group Maute.

Aguirre confirmed on Monday that he had received an invitation from the House justice committee to appear on Tuesday’s hearing.

“I will attend on Tuesday,” he said, adding his testimony would focus on his actions in connection with his request.

Sereno is facing an impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon, who accused the chief justice, among others, of manipulating and delaying the resolution of Aguirre's request for transfer of Maute cases outside of Mindanao.

Acting on Aguirre’s letter-request dated May 29, the SC on June 6 assigned Cagayan de Oro Cith courts to handle the rebellion and other criminal cases against Maute group members and sympathizers who laid siege to Marawi City.

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The Justice chief then made an appeal, citing security concerns forwarded by prosecutors assigned to conduct inquest proceedings and appear in the trial of cases and lack of adequate facilities inside Camp Evangelista, the headquarters of the Army's 4th Infantry Division.

Aguirre's request for Taguig courts to try and resolve the cases was finally granted during an en banc session on June 27 but it was only made public by the SC on July 18.

"Sereno has been delaying the issuance and release of the resolution because she failed to get a majority vote on her desire to keep the Maute and similar cases in Cagayan de Oro City, to the detriment of the service," the impeachment complaint stated.

"Indeed, the intentional delay on the part of respondent Sereno to issue and release the much-awaited resolution, only because she has lost in the vote, is another count of culpable violation of the Constitution,” it said.

Sereno the allegation was false and based on hearsay.

In her response filed with the justice committee, Sereno said the Court had previously noted that detaining the Maute members at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, which is a few kilometers away from urban centers, “may have a substantial effect on the economy and on public safety.”

The Philippine National Police, however, supposedly committed to relocate the place of detention to a “less heavily congested and better secured police camp, and hence, the chief justice recommended the approval of the transfer to the Supreme Court en banc.”

“Clearly, any supposed ‘delay’ in the resolution of A.M. [Administrative Matter] 17-06-02-SC was due to the need to coordinate among the SC, the PNP, the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], and the DOJ [Department of Justice] with respect to the security and logistics issues associated with the request for transfer of venue,” Sereno’s reply stated.

Sereno also said she was the justice in charge of Aguirre’s request, contrary to Gadon’s claim that it was Associate Justice Noel Tijam.