Idinetalye ni Supreme Court Associate Justice Noel Tijam sa House Committee on Justice ang umano’y mabagal na aksyon ni Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno sa ilang mga isyu.
Sa pagpapatuloy ng deliberasyon sa impeachment laban kay Sereno, kinumpirma ni Justice Tijam na nakatanggap nga siya ng liham mula kay Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre.
Hinihiling ni Aguirre sa Supreme Court (SC) En Banc na ilipat ang paglilitis hinggil sa kaso ng Maute terrorist group sa Metro Manila mula sa Cagayan de Oro City sa Mindanao pero hindi ito natalakay sa isinagawa nilang special En Banc session.
I received the copy of the letter of (Justice) Secretary Aguirre.
I cannot recall now if all those documents were completely circulated to all of us, but the fact remains is that during the En Banc executive session it was not discussed, although it was in the agenda.
- Pahayag ni Justice Noel Tijam
Sa pagtatanong ng mga mambabatas kay Justice Tijam, sinabi nito na sa gayung aksyon aniya ng Punong Mahistrado ay nararapat lamang aniya ang pagpapaliwanag hinggil dito.
With all due respect, your honor, I promised it, I said, if the Chief Justice continues or refuses to appear and recognize the proceedings before Congress on the impeachment, it may constitute a culpable violation of the Constitution.
My statement is not designed to prejudge the Chief Justice, but rather to encourage her to respect the Rule of Law and respect the process before Court.
- Pahayag ni Justice Noel Tijam