Alvarez assured the chief magistrate of due process – provided she personally appears in the impeachment hearing. Under the rules of procedure in impeachment proceedings, defense lawyers are not allowed to cross-examine witnesses, he said. Umali said his panel will continue the hearing on Sereno impeachment when Congress resumes session on Nov. 20 after the Philippines’ hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and related meetings. “If the justice is invoking judicial independence, why did he not do that during the impeachment of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona? She was later appointed as chief magistrate, replacing her late predecessor Renato Corona, who was convicted by the Senate impeachment court in May 2012.

Source: Philippine Star October 29, 2017 16:09 UTC