Sereno camp: Plea for quo warranto proceedings ‘scrap of paper’

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s spokesperson, lawyer Josa Deinla said lawyer Eligio Mallari, whom the Supreme Court barred from practicing law for two years, should know what the Constitution says on the removal of an impeachable officer. (Photo by Center for Strategic and International Studies/Flickr)

MANILA — The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Wednesday branded as “scrap of paper” the petition of a suspended lawyer asking the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to initiate a quo warranto proceedings to challenge the legality of her appointment to the judiciary’s top post.

Sereno’s spokesperson, lawyer Josa Deinla said lawyer Eligio Mallari, whom the Supreme Court barred from practicing law for two years, should know what the Constitution says on the removal of an impeachable officer.

“As president of Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, Mr. Mallari should know what the Constitution says on the removal of an impeachable officer. The Chief Justice, being the 5th highest official of the land, can only be removed through an impeachment proceeding, and not through a quo warranto proceeding,” Deinla said in a statement.

“We cannot help but view this latest ignorant attempt as part and parcel of the grand plan to harass, malign and humiliate the Chief Justice to force her to resign because her detractors know that the impeachment complaint lodged against her is baseless and contains allegations which are not even grounds for impeachment,” she noted.

She added the Chief Justice will not succumb to this kind of pressure and is confident that the truth is on her side.

In his petition filed to the OSG on Wednesday, Mallari pointed out that Sereno’s appointment as chief magistrate is now being questioned following the testimonies of several of her colleagues in the impeachment proceedings being conducted by the House Committee on Justice.

Mallari cited that the validity of Sereno’s appointment was raised by SC Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta in one of the hearings of the committee in view of her failure to submit all her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) to the judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

Mallari said Peralta even told the members of the committee that he considers Sereno as a “de facto chief justice.

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Peralta’s view, according to Mallari, was shared by SC Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro when the latter said that her appointment was “unfair to other contenders.”

Aside from this, Mallari noted that very low score or failing mark in the psychological test given prior to her inclusion in the short list submitted to then President Benigno Aquino III for the Chief Justice post.

“Any lawyer worth his salt would tell you that Sereno’s title to the office could be tried in a quo warranto proceedings may be instituted either by the person who claims to be entitled to the office or by the Republic of the Philippines represented by the Solicitor General or a public prosecutor,” Mallari noted.

He said that a member of the judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence.

“Right now, Sereno’s competence and integrity are under intense public scrutiny. Having scored very low or flunked the psychological test and in view of non-submission of all her SALNs prior to appointment, Sereno’s claim to the position is tenuous, and must be challenged in quo warranto proceedings by the Solicitor General,” the lawyer said.