House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has formally endorsed to the House Committee on Rules the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvin Leonen.
Velasco, in his letter to House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez dated March 25, endorsed the original copies of the impeachment complaint against Leonen for inclusion in the House’s order of business.
Under the Lower House’s rules on impeachment, the Speaker is required to include the impeachment complaint in the Order of Business or the House’s agenda within 10 days of receipt, before it is referred to the House’s justice panel within three session days.
The impeachment complaint against Leonen was filed by Edwin Cordevilla, secretary general of the Filipino League of Advocates for Good Government, and which was also endorsed by Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba.
Barba, 2ndDistrict Representative of Ilocos Sur, is cousin of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.
In February, the Supreme Court, sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) had dismissed Marcos’ electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo for lack of merit.
Cordevilla alleged Leonen betrayed public trust when he failed to file his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) during his tenure at the University of the Philippines (UP).
The complainant also denounced Leonen’s alleged track record of gross inefficiency “as shown by the snail pace in which he resolves his cases.”