Sereno nagsumite ng SPA, dededmahin ng justice committee

 Nagsumite ng Special Power of Attorney si Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno sa House committee on justice upang sabihin na ang mga ito ang kakatawan sa kanya sa isasagawang pagdinig sa impeachment complaint.     Pero sinabi ng chairman ng komite na si Mindoro Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali na wala itong silbi dahil tanging si Sereno lamang ang maaaring kumuwestyon sa mga ebidensya laban sa kanya at patunayan na hindi ito totoo.     Ang SPA ay may petsang Nobyembre 20 at ginawa umano bilang bahagi ng karapatan ni Sereno.       “My attorneys-in-fact to act for and in my name and stead and to exercise my rights and to otherwise protect my interests in all stages of the impeachment proceeding before the committee on justice,” ani Sereno. “Exercising my constitutional rights, including my right to be heard, my right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation/s against me, my right to object to questions, my right to be furnished with evidence, my right against self-incrimination, my right against unlawful arrest and unreasonable searches and seizures, and my right to privacy.”     Bahagi ng legal defense ni Sereno sina Alexander Poblador, Dino Vivencio A.A. Tamayo, Anzen P. Dy, Justin Christopher C. Mendoza, Carla S. Pingul, Sandra Mae T. Magalang, Jayson C. Aguilar, Oswald P. Imbat, Enrico Edmundo D. Castelo II, Charles Richard C. Avila, Jr. at Patricia P. Geraldez.       Sa panayam, sinabi naman ni Umali na hindi maipagtatanggol ng mga abugado si Sereno sa gagawin nilang pagdinig ngayong araw.     “They cannot defend the Chief Justice. It has no bearing at all because what is material here is her presence for her to controvert the evidence to be presented by the complainant and the witnesses,” ani Umali.       Sinabi naman ni Umali na posibleng payagan na makinig ang mga abugado ni Sereno subalit hindi sila pagsasalitain. “They (Sereno’s lawyers) can come, but they cannot speak because the rules do not permit such arrangement.”     Inakusahan si Sereno ng hindi pagdedeklara ng totoo sa kanyang Statement of Assets Liabilities and Networth, pagbili ng mamahaling sasakyan, at pagmanipula umano ng ilang desisyon. 30