The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno described Thursday’s finding of probable cause by the House of Representatives’ justice committee to impeach her as “anticlimactic,” saying the panel had long prejudged the case. Only Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao and Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte, both of the Liberal Party, voted against the finding of probable cause by the committee dominated by President Duterte’s allies. “Actually the evidence they presented has been more helpful to the [Chief Justice]. “But to say this is an impeachable offense and to say she committed high crimes and violations of the Constitution, I did not see probable cause for any of the allegations,” he said. A group of lawmakers called Makabayan (nationalists) criticized the justice committee’s putting the determination of probable cause to a vote without going through the grounds one by one.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 08, 2018 23:03 UTC