House junks complaint vs magistrate after committee rejection
THE HOUSE of Representatives on Wednesday rejected the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Justice Mario Victor F. Leonen.
Voting 165-1 with one abstention, congressmen adopted House Resolution 2068, which dismissed the complaint filed by Edwin M. Cordevilla, secretary general of the Filipino League of Advocates for Good Government in December.
The complainant had accused Mr. Leonen of violating the Constitution by allegedly delaying cases and failing to file his statements net worth.
Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba and Speaker Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco endorsed the complaint to the justice committee which rejected it on May 27.
Mr. Barba is the cousin of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., whose vice-presidential election protest was junked by the Supreme Court in a decision penned by Mr. Leonen.
The House panel said evidence provided by the complainant was based on hearsay, particularly printouts of online news articles and photocopies of documents, it said in a report. — Russell Louis C. Ku
