Sereno camp: No intentional delay on Maute transfer request

MANILA, Philippines — Citing the amount of workload and the need to coordinate among concerned agencies, the spokespersons of embattled Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Tuesday denied the accusation that the chief magistrate delayed the transfer of rebellion cases against Islamist militants in Marawi from the war-torn city to a court in Metro Manila.

Lorenzo Gadon, a former lawyer of former President Gloria Arroyo and a losing senatorial candidate of the Marcos-era Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, accused the chief magistrate of manipulating and delaying the resolution of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II's request in May to have the cases tried in a court in the capital.

Sereno's spokespersons defended the timing of the decision, saying that the full court, not just the chief justice, was involved in the resolution of Aguirre's request.

They said that while Aguirre's transfer request was pending before the Supreme Court, the tribunal was also conducting oral arguments on petitions questioning the declaration of martial law on May 23. The Constitution required the court to resolve the petitions by July 4.

They said the transfer of the cases also required coordination among the SC, Justice department, police and military.

"The transfer of venue of the Maute cases had serious national security implications, including substantial adverse effects on the economy and public safety (especially when the cases are transferred to the heavily-populated economic and business centers of Metro Manila)," they said, emphasizing that any perceived delay could not be attributed to the chief justice.

They said the court received Aguirre's request on May 29, 2017 and took eight days to act on it. It issued its resolution on the petition on June 6, 2017.

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Aguirre filed a letter of reconsideration on June 13, citing the security concerns of the prosecutors assigned in the case and the lack of adequate facilities in Camp Evangelista, the headquarters of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, in Cagayan de Oro City where the hearings were supposed to be held.

According to Sereno's spokespersons, the Supreme Court discussed the letter for reconsideration on June 27 amid the tribunal's oral arguments and work on petition's questioning President Rodrigo Duterte's martial law declaration.

Aguirre, during Tuesday's hearing, however alleged that instead of discussing his letter on June 20, it was tackled a week later because of Sereno's absence.

The decision granting Aguirre's request for reconsideration was released on July 18 or 14 days after it was discussed.

"Under these circumstances, the accusation of 'intentional delay' is baseless," they said.

Aguirre appeared at the House Justice committee hearing aimed at determining probable cause in the impeachment cases filed against Sereno on Tuesday and told panel members that the chief justice advised him to "tone down" the content of his request letter.

The Justice secretary said that Sereno told him to focus his letter on how the transfer of the Maute cases to a Taguig City court could allow the military to focus on operations against Islamist militants occupying parts of the city.

Gadon alleged that Sereno delayed the resolution of the petition because she lost in the vote.

Aside from delays on acting on Aguirre's petition, Gadon is accusing Sereno of committing 27 specific acts that he claims warrants her removal from office.