The Philippine Online Chronicles

After a report came out on an alleged bid by the Palace to remove former Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas  from the defense panel, Cuevas is now being asked to name the lawyer who supposedly approached him and urged him to quit.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said Cuevas’s disclosure would allow the Senate to hold the lawyer in indirect contempt before the Senate impeachment court.

“It’s incumbent [for Cuevas] to tell the court the whole details of this accusation so the court can act appropriately, because if he can substantiate it, we can tackle action against that person,” Lacson said.

Lacson said the “serious accusation” tagging Malacañang must be probed during today’s impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In a previous Philippine Daily Inquirer report, Cuevas claimed that the lawyer, who is his former student at the University of the Philippines College of Law, approached him on a number of occasions.

He said he was being asked to abandon the defense panel in exchange for the junking of the criminal case against Magtanggol Gatdula, who was recently axed from the National Bureau of Investigation. Gatdula is a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo, who has Cuevas as legal counsel.

“I know him [the lawyer] to be with Malacañang, (but) I’m not sure whether he’s authorized or he is doing it himself,” Cuevas said.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda has also urged Cuevas to identify the lawyer in question. “Let’s not dwell on anonymity. He owes it to the public to identify the person,” he said.

A Philippine Star report however said that Cuevas is now denying that he is being pressured by the Palace to quit as head of the defense panel.

"Walang pressure ang Malacañang sa akin...walang katotohanan 'yan...Sa tingin ko po, paninirang puri lang 'yan," Cuevas was quoted in a radio interview.