‘We won!’: Sereno says despite removal from office
MANILA, Philippines — It is still a win for newly ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
This is despite the historic Supreme Court ruling, which declared “void” Sereno’s appointment as the country’s 24th chief magistrate.
Voting 8-6 in a special en banc session Friday, the high court granted the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida, which sought to remove Sereno from office.
“Maraming salamat po sa Panginoong Diyos pagkat lumawak na po ang ating laban. Walo po ang dapat lamang bumoto sa kaso ng quo warranto dahil ang anim ay dapat nag-inhibit ayon sa rules ng compulsory inhibition. Kaya kung tutuusin, panalo po tayo,” a defiant Sereno said when she addressed her supporters minutes after the decision was released.
She earlier asked six of her colleagues—Associate Justices Teresita De Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Samuel Martires and Lucas Bersamin—to inhibit, citing perceived bias against her.
Sereno once again insisted that only the Senate, as impeachment court, can remove her from office.
“Ito po ay una sa ating kasaysayan na inalis ng mayorya ng Korte Suprema ang isa sa kanilang kasamahan. Inalis nila ang tanging karapatan ng Senado. Tahasan nilang nilabag ang sinumpaang tungkuling pag-ingatan ang saligang batas at winasak ang hudikatura,” she said.
A cheery Sereno expressed gratitude to her supporters and urged them to be more vigilant.
“Kaya ang araw na ito ay hindi kabiguan kundi isang tagumpay sapagkat pinakita niyong lahat ang inyong lakas na kayo ay nasa panig ng katotohanan laban sa makapangyarihan. Habang tumitindig tayo para sa matuwid, hindi tayo kailanman magiging talunan. Ang araw na ito ay hindi katapusan kundi simula lamang,” she said.
Sereno added: “Hindi na tayo mananatiling tahimik. Dahil ang pananahimik ay katumbas sa kanilang pang-aabuso.”
It only took the high tribunal two months to rule on Calida’s plea, filed on March 5, which challenged the legality of Sereno’s appointment to the Supreme Court.
Those who voted in favor of the ouster were Associate Justices Tijam, De Castro, Bersamin, Jardeleza, Martires, Peralta, Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo.
The dissenting votes were Associate Justices Estela Bernabe, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Presbitero Jose Velasco Jr., Mariano Del Castillo, Marvic Leonen, Antonio Carpio.
In a statement Friday, Calida said the high court's decision is an “epitome of judicial independence.”
The camp of the ousted chief justice would appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling.
This is the first time that the high court unseated its colleague on its own. Sereno was the second chief justice to be removed from office after Renato Corona was ousted in 2012 through impeachment.
An insider source of The STAR says the decision on Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's quo warranto was already signed by seven justices ahead of this morning's special en banc session.
Court observers said that based on the April 10 oral arguments on the quo warranto petition against Sereno, it seemed that majority of the justices were inclined to vote for the removal of the head magistrate.
READ: How the quo warranto petition vs Sereno could affect the judiciary
— with Edu Punay
Former Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te says there could have been other methods in resolving the matter when asked if the high court made a mistake in removing the chief justice through a quo warranto petition.
"I think most of the matters that went on... there were some personal animus that was going on between them. Where I'm coming from is that perhaps that personal animus could have been resolved, and that doesn't mean only on one side it meant on all sides, because many of these are family matters in a sense. Internal matters that could have been resolved and it was very difficult for me because I could see that," Te says in an interview over ANC's "Early Edition."
"The decisions of the court become the law of the land that's what we always say. That's a judgment that's there. I don't know if I would call it a mistake but I would definitely say that in creating that precedent, that loophole, even though it is a once in a lifetime loophole, I think the court could have restrained itself," he adds.
The Supreme Court directs Solicitor General Jose Calida to comment on the appeal filed by ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on the quo warranto ruling.
The high tribunal gives Calida a non-extendible period of five days to file his comment on Sereno’s motion for reconsideration.
Ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno files an appeal on the Supreme Court ruling on May 11 that granted Solicitor General Jose Calida’s quo warranto petition against her.
In a vote of 8-6, her colleagues at the SC voided her appointment as chief justice in 2012.
"Respondent [Sereno] is found disqualified from and is hereby adjudged guilty of unlawfully holding and exercising the Office of the Chief Justice. Accordingly, Sereno is ousted and excluded therefrom," the historic decision reads.
Those who voted in favor of the ouster were Associate Justices Noel Tijam, Teresita De Castro, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Samuel Martires, Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo. -
A group of justices and employees of the Supreme Court expresses support for the high court after its decision to oust Sereno as chief justice.
READ: Statement of support from judges, court personnel for Supreme Court after its decision ousting CJ Sereno @PhilippineStar pic.twitter.com/Iqnz4LgtZo
— Edu Punay (@edupunay) May 21, 2018
The Senate will take up today a resolution signed by 14 of its members seeking a review of the high court's decision to remove an impeachable official via a quo warranto.
READ: The cards are stacked against Sereno but she may have an ace up her sleeve
The Coalition for Justice urges the Senate to take a collective stand against the Supreme Court decision ousting Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno by asserting its exclusive right to remove impeachable officials.
“We respectfully ask you to remind the Supreme Court that the Senate's sole power over impeachable officers must not be impugned by a co-equal branch of government,” the CFJ says in an open letter to senators.
“If the Decision remains unchallenged and the Senate's duty is unperformed, the dire fallout on our system and people will lie at the Senate's door,” it warns.
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