‘Sereno got second lowest score in psychiatric tests’

MANILA, Philippines — A former Supreme Court (SC) official confirmed before the committee on justice of the House of Representatives late Wednesday that Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno indeed obtained the second lowest score in her psychiatric tests in 2012.

Former SC clerk of court Enriqueta Vidal told the panel of Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali that Sereno – whom Aquino appointed as SC justice in 2010 and promoted her to chief justice two years later – got a rating of “4” in her psychological report.

Vidal was present in the entire hearing, where Quezon City Rep. Kit Belmonte noticed she had not yet been called among the committee’s resource persons, which included SC officials. 

Umali then asked Vidal a series of questions ranging from the notes Sereno wrote up to the results of her psychological test, where the hesitant female lawyer was forced to confirm Sereno got the second to the lowest rating in a five-point psychiatric test.

The senior administration lawmaker even reminded Vidal that she was testifying under oath before the committee hearing the impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice, thus it would be unbelievable for her to miss such a significant detail. 

Vidal confirmed that Sereno indeed received a rating of “4,” the second lowest rating on a scale of 1-5. As clerk of court, Vidal sat as ex-officio secretary of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), giving her access to the records of applicants for the justice position.

Psychiatrists Dulce Liza Sahagun-Reyes and Genuina Ranoy, who administered the tests, have yet to testify before the committee. But Umali said the panel would be sending them the subpoena on the basis that JBC hired them to conduct the test on Sereno.

Reports indicated the two psychiatrists hired by the JBC gave Sereno a rating of “4” – meaning that while she projected a “happy mood,” she also exhibited “depressive markers.”

The report added that after the test results were revealed, Sereno who was chairman of the JBC, refused to renew the contracts of the two psychiatrists and terminated them in 2013.

Sereno was among the candidates who applied for the post vacated by her predecessor, the late chief justice Renato Corona who was convicted in 2012 by the Senate impeachment court for concealing a dollar account in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

‘Red flag’

Meanwhile, Sereno’s decision to renew the services of her chosen information technology (IT) consultant actually “raised a red flag” in the judiciary, a lawyer who is also technologically proficient told the House of Representatives. 

“(Sereno’s camp) said the consultant is needed. In fact, I tendered my resignation last year (June 2017) because there’s a red flag for me as a lawyer on what’s going on,” SC - Management Information Systems Office (MISO) acting chief Carlos Garay revealed. 

He was referring to IT consultant Helen Macasaet who raked in nearly P12 million in total fees for four years, from 2013 to 2017, and whom he wanted removed or replaced because he did not think the SC needed her expertise in the first place.