MANILA - Will the House of Representatives impeach another magistrate of the Supreme Court? Oriental Mindoro 2nd District Rep. Reynaldo Umali on Thursday said he is studying the possible filing of an impeachment complaint after the High Court ruled to disqualify Regina Reyes as the winner in the congressional race in Marinduque’s lone district. Umali said the decision favors Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco, son of Associate Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr. "We want to see the grounds for impeachment like betrayal of public trust or culpable violation of the Constitution...I want to see the particular violations committed," he said in a radio DZMM interview. In the interview, Umali said he is defending the time-honored principle of jurisdiction of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal to decide on matters of election cases of proclaimed candidates. He noted that the SC decision causes confusion since the Court had previously recognized the HRET's jurisdiction in other election cases. RADIO DZMM, December 12, 2013
