(Eagle News) — The Office of the Solicitor General on Monday, March 5, filed a quo warranto position against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno before the high court itself, saying she was ineligible to hold the position in the first place.
This was after the recent discovery that she had failed to file the required Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or SALN. She actually was required to file more of less 10 SALNs which she had failed to do, explained Solicitor General Jose Calida in a press briefing.
Calida 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 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.
Calida, during the press conference before filing the case, also read his statement for Sereno, and explained how the filing of the quo warranto petition was actually an act of kindness on the OSG’s part.
“Last Friday, you told your audience in Baguio City that you requested to have your day in the Senate impeachment court,” he said addressing Sereno.
“The Office of the Solicitor General will not allow you to undergo the indignity that the late Chief Justice Renato Corona suffered at the hands of politicians who unjustly convicted him. You do not deserve that,” he said.
“This morning, I will file a Petition for Quo Warranto at the Supreme Court where you will be judged by your peers who know you and the Constitution better. I don’t expect you to appreciate this but believe me, this is an act of kindness to a fellow lawyer.”
Calida explained that section 12 paragraph 1 of article 8 of the Constitution empowers the Supreme Court to exercise original jurisdiction over quo warranto proceedings.
He also cited that “Section 7, paragraph 3, article 8 of the Constitution insists that a member of the judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence.”
-Failure to file 10 SALNs-
“Unfortunately for respondent Sereno she failed the test of integrity when she failed to file more or less 10 SALNs,” Calida said referring to the period when she served as professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law from 1986 to 2006.
He also cited that Sereno violated “Section 17 article 11 on the accountability of public officers with regards to the submission of SALN” and Republic Act 3109 which also requires SALN submissions by public officers.
“The blatant disregard by respondent Sereno to comply with the requirements of the law and the Constitution proves her lack of integrity; hence, she is unlawfully holding the position of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” Calida explained.
Calida explained that the impeachment trial can proceed in the Senate even if the OSG will file the quo warranto proceedings before the Supreme Court.
“It runs on two different tracks. But in so far as we are concerned the proper remedy is quo warranto,” Calida said.
He said it was incumbent upon the State “in not allowing persons without eligibility to hold positions” in government, as he explained that such quo warranto petitions had been filed before against impeachable officials, citing chairmen of the Commission on Elections and the Commission on Audit.
“If we can prove that she is unlawfully holding position because of eligibility, then the impeachment must yield to the Supreme Court on this quo warranto case,” he explained.
-Calida to SC: Declare CJ position vacant –
The government’s chief lawyer said that his office “has to address this anomaly” regarding Sereno’s ineligibility.
“There can be no special treatment for Sereno no matter how impressive her credentials may be,” Calida said.
He explained that the “principle of equal protection of the laws demands that all aspirants to the judiciary pass the test of integrity.”
He then asked the Supreme Court to “exercise its original jurisdiction to oust” Sereno from the Office of the Chief Justice because of its constitutional duty to “apply the law without fear or favor.”
“She is unlawfully holding the position of the Chief Justice; the Court cannot, therefore, shirk its responsibility to declare the position vacant,” the OSG’s petition read
-Trillanes claims OSG move is unconstitutional’-
Meanwhile, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV called the OSG’s move as “unconstitutional.”
“Any attempt to remove the Chief Justice through a process other than impeachment is unconstitutional. It will be a brazen usurpation of the exclusive power of Congress under the Constitution,” he said.
Trillanes even warned the other Supreme Court justices who will force the removal of Sereno may be impeached later “under a different administration.”
“In view of reports that certain SC Justices, headed by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, are maneuvering to force the unconstitutional removal of CJ Sereno, may I remind these justices that any unconstitutional act they commit now, can be used as a ground for impeachment against them later on under a different administration. For those who are retired by then, these acts can and will be used as basis for graft cases,” the senator explained.
(With reports from Moira Encina and Meanne Corvera, Eagle News Service)