Sereno, De Castro face off at judges’ gathering

MANILA, Philippines — The catfight between Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro of the Supreme Court is out of the bag.

What was kept hidden within the Supreme Court (SC) for over five years was witnessed by the public for the first time during the annual convention of the Philippine Women Judges Association yesterday.

While De Castro testified against Sereno in the impeachment proceedings against the top magistrate conducted by the House committee on justice, the public has not seen them slamming each other in one venue.

Sereno was invited to deliver the keynote address in the event attended by fellow SC justices who recently decided to compel her to take an indefinite leave of absence while facing impeachment in Congress, and ordered her to answer the quo warranto petition filed by the solicitor general seeking her ouster from office due to alleged void appointment in 2012.

In her speech, Sereno tackled her impeachment case, lamenting the “lies and bullying” and vowing that “I will not yield.”

Sereno was applauded by the women judges but not her peers in the high court, except for Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.

After her speech, De Castro quickly walked to the podium, ignoring Sereno as they passed each other, and criticized the Chief Justice for tackling her impeachment case at the forum.

De Castro cited the sub judice rule, which prohibits members of the court as well as lawyers from discussing merits of a pending case before any public venue.

“I’m sorry that the Chief Justice has taken this opportunity to discuss a matter that is sub judice. We have given her all the courtesy and I sincerely hope that she should not have dealt with a matter that is pending with the court,” she stressed.

A hush fell in the room following the comment of De Castro, who is president of the PWJA.

Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos, a guest at the forum, broke the ice by telling the audience that the palpable tension left her with a heavy heart. She thanked the audience when the room erupted in laughter: “Ay salamat narinig ko kayo tumawa. Kanina pa po ang bigat ng loob ko.”

Clashes between Sereno and De Castro since the former assumed the top SC post in 2012 – including alleged shouting matches during SC sessions – have been reported by the media several times.

In one instance, De Castro told Sereno in front of their colleagues to “stop lying” in her dissenting opinions.

It was learned that the justices were surprised by Sereno’s speech because she was asked by organizers not to tackle the impeachment case in deference to the other justices and to the occasion.

Apart from De Castro, also present during the event were acting Chief Justice and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Velasco and Associate Justices Mariano del Castillo, Samuel Martires, Noel Tijam, Diosdado Peralta and Estela Perlas Bernabe.

Earlier, De Castro raised questions on the validity of Sereno’s appointment due to failure to comply with the 10-year statement of assets, liabilities and net worth requirement for the chief justice post before the House justice committee.

De Castro expressed belief that it was a “great injustice” for other nominees to the chief justice post knowing that the one appointed by then president Benigno Aquino III was not qualified due to incomplete requirements.?She even implied that the Judicial and Bar Council regular members could be held liable for violation of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) for including Sereno in the shortlist for the SC vacancy.