POLITICS-IMPEACHMENT: MANILA – Chief Justice Sereno laments legal shortcuts, harassment

MANILA, Philippines — Facing ouster moves in both the legislative and judicial branches, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno came out swinging yesterday, accusing the Duterte administration of employing legal “shortcuts” in violation of the Constitution.

The chief magistrate-on-leave also criticized the administration for its “persecution of enemies.”

“The current state of the nation is one where perceived enemies of the dominant order are considered fair game for harassment, intimidation and persecution; where shortcuts are preferred over adherence to constitutional guarantees of human rights, including denial of due process,” Sereno said during a forum on women’s rights at St. Scholastica’s College Manila.

Sereno lamented what she branded as “impromptu, extemporized, unprepared and un-thought of plans of action” that violated the Constitution and its mechanisms for accountability.

“We cannot be reckless in our actions because the Constitution told us to strengthen the institutions of democracy, transparency and accountability and not to weaken them,” she said.

“We have structures and procedures for transparency and accountability. We should do it properly.”

Sereno also slammed “fake news and propaganda” meant “to deceive and manipulate, rather than enlighten and educate.”

Sereno is facing two ouster attempts, including by President Duterte’s administration, whose legal counsel asked the Supreme Court to expel her for allegedly not declaring her assets in the past, making her ineligible to be the country’s judicial leader.

The justice committee of the House of Representatives, which is dominated by Duterte’s allies, is expected to vote today to uphold an impeachment case against Sereno, who has gone on indefinite leave.

Thirteen justices of the 15-member high court have backed Sereno’s leave amid the strife in the judiciary.

The House is expected to impeach Sereno based on 27 allegations, including her alleged failure to file her annual statements of assets and liabilities as required by law. If she is impeached, the Senate will form itself into an impeachment court.

Sereno’s camp, however, says she has declared all her income and paid the corresponding taxes and can prove that in an impeachment trial.

The Office of the Solicitor General filed a quo warranto petition before the SC seeking her ouster from the top judicial post on her alleged invalid appointment in 2012.

Her colleagues in the SC, who earlier compelled her to take an indefinite leave of absence so as not to drag the judiciary into her personal battle, ordered her to answer the petition last Tuesday.

The petition in the high court was seen to expedite her removal from office without the need to complete the ongoing impeachment proceedings in Congress.

In the petition filed last Monday, Calida asked the SC to nullify Sereno’s appointment over ineligibility for the top judicial post and order her removal from office as a de facto official whose authority was allegedly hinged on an appointment that was void from the start.

The Solicitor General argued Sereno did not meet the specific qualification of proven integrity for the chief justice post with her failure to comply with the required submission of 10-year statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs).

A quo warranto petition, as provided in both Article VIII Section 5(1) of the Constitution and Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, challenges the legal basis of one’s appointment and seeks the removal of the respondent from office because of lack of qualification or legal basis to continue holding such office.

In the same speech, Sereno also appealed to constitutional commissions and other branches of government to do their best to remain independent from ruling powers.

“We must not be passive spectators to what is happening, thinking that it is a game of thrones among political forces,” she said.

Sereno believes that policymakers should spend time strengthening existing government institutions instead of overhauling the Constitution.

“The Constitution, if we had just been paying serious attention to it, would’ve worked in the past and can still work in the future,” Sereno said in the forum.

She said the Constitution “is still effective should the judiciary, ombudsman and other constitutional commissions be granted autonomy” and be allowed to enjoy “democracy, not authoritarianism.”

“We do not have to reinvent the wheel, at least in this area. What should occupy much of our people’s time is not politics but how we can build our nation brick by brick by ensuring that as designed, the important watchdogs and checks and balances that are designed to work, indeed work,” she stressed.

Without mentioning Duterte by name, Sereno also criticized the use of foul rhetoric against women, saying “coarseness, including the denigration of women, rather than civility mark the language of the podium.”

Comments by Duterte, including one that encouraged troops to shoot female communist rebels in their genitals, have shocked human rights and women’s groups and sparked condemnation.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque  has tried to parry the criticisms by saying Duterte’s remarks should not be taken literally.

Last year, Duterte said he wanted Sereno and the ombudsman impeached and accused them of allowing themselves to be used to discredit his administration. / Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) – March 8, 2018 – 12:00am

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