(Eagle News) – Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno becomes the first Philippine chief justice to be removed by her peers.
With a vote of 8-6, Sereno was ousted from office on Friday, May 11, 2018 by majority of her colleagues as the high court, in an en banc session, that decided on the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida.
Sereno inhibited from the proceedings as she insisted that six other justices of the court should also do the same. She reported back to work on Wednesday, May 9, two months after she went on indefinite leave on March 1.
Those who voted in favor of removing Sereno through the quo warranto petition were Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Teresita Leonardo De Castro, Lucas Bersamin, Samuel Martires, Francis Jardeleza, Alexander Gesmundo, Andres Reyes, and Noel Tijam who wrote the decision.
Those who dissented were Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Mark del Castillo, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Presbitero Velasco Jr., and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.
The high court’s decision was “immediately executory.”
Outside the Supreme Court, there were groups rallying in favor of Sereno, as well as groups rallying against her.
Calida filed the quo warranto petition, on March 5, saying that Sereno was ineligible from the start to hold the post because of her failure to file at least 10 SALNs including the time that she served as professor of University of the Philippines College of Law
In his petition, he asked the Supreme Court to declare as “void” Sereno’s appointment by former President Benigno Aquino III on August 24, 2012, and also asked the high court to “oust” Sereno as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Calida said that this quo warranto petition is actually “an act of kindness” for Sereno, since she will then be judged by her fellow Supreme Court justices, rather than by politicians which is what will happen in case of an impeachment trial.
-Act of kindness-
“This is an act of kindness actually to her, because we know what happened in the Corona impeachment trial,” Calida said then in a press conference, referring to the impeachment case of the late Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona.
“She (Sereno) will be judged by her peers, rather than by politicians,” he said.
With the high court deciding to oust Sereno, the House of Representatives has yet to make a statement whether it will proceed to file the articles of impeachment against Sereno before the Senate as the impeachment court.
Sereno is the 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
When she was appointed at the age of 52, she became the second youngest person and the first woman to head the Supreme Court.
Sereno was born on July 2, 1960 in Manila.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1980, and finished her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law at Diliman, graduating as class valedictorian in 1984.
She also passed the bar that same year with a score of 89.
Her camp said Sereno is expected to appeal the high court’s decision.
