Leonen impeachment case gets going

The House of Representatives has set the wheels of the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen in motion.

Speaker Lord Allan Jay Velasco sent a letter last March 25 to House Majority Floor Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez asking that the impeachment complaint be included in the chamber’s order of business.

Velasco endorsed the copies of the complaint which was filed last year by journalist Edwin M. Cordevilla.

Leonen is being charged with betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.

The complaint alleges that the magistrate did not file his Statements of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth while he was teaching at the University of the Philippines, and had lobbied for the renovation of a cottage at the Supreme Court compound in Baguio City that was assigned to him, at a cost of P5 million.

The complaint drew extensively from several articles published by The Manila Times that detailed Leonen’s misdeeds.

In filing the complaint, Cordevilla was represented by lawyer Larry Gadon.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Barba was among the first to endorse the complaint, saying Cordevilla, his constituent, sought his help.