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DPA
Manila
The Philippines' embattled Supreme Court chief justice on Friday called on legislators to let her impeachment trial begin"sooner rather than later" to allow her to dispute allegations against her.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the first women to lead the Supreme Court, said she was"calm and battle ready" as she waits for the vote of the House of Representatives plenary on whether she would be impeached.
"I am confident that in time, the baselessness of the charges against me will come out," she told a forum with foreign correspondents in Manila."Give me my day in the impeachment court."
When asked if she hoped the trial would start soon, she said:"Sooner rather than later. Let's end this."
Sereno made the statement one day after the House of Representatives' Committee on Justice found probable cause to impeach her over allegations she failed to declare all her financial assets, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
The committee was expected to draft articles of impeachment and submit a~report to the House~plenary next week to be able to schedule~a vote.~
A one-third vote of the more than 200 members of the House will impeach Sereno, who has gone on leave since March 1 to prepare for a trial at the Senate.
Sereno has drawn the ire of Duterte for criticising his administration's campaign against illegal drugs and his declaration of martial law in the southern region of Mindanao.
