(Eagle News) — The Palace on Friday, June 1, slammed United Nations Special Rapporteur Diego Garcia-Sayan after he said President Rodrigo Duterte’s “vulgar” pronouncements against Maria Lourdes Sereno “constitute direct intimidation” and “a vicious attack on the independence of the judiciary.”
“We reiterate that the President’s dislike of the ousted Chief Justice is not an attack on the judiciary or an affront to judicial independence,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
He said the executive “recognizes the independence and respects the separation of powers among the three branches of government. ”
In the first place, according to Roque, it was Sereno who “created her own problems.”
He noted that it was “ex-CJ Sereno’s colleagues, associate justices known for their independence and unassailable integrity, who voted for her to be ousted.”
It was them, Roque said, who asked her to go on leave “to protect the integrity and reputation of the court after it became clear that the she failed to file some of her annual Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.”
“The High Court granted the quo warranto petition against the ex-CJ after allowing the oral arguments which found the former top magistrate disqualified for the position,” he said.
Sereno’s appointment as Chief Justice was nullified with a vote of 8-6.
Sereno has appealed the May 11 SC decision.