SC orders SolGen to respond to Sereno comment on quo warranto petition

FILE: The Supreme Court (SC) ordered Solicitor General Jose Calida to respond to the comment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on a petition to oust her from her post as the country’s top magistrate. (PNA Photo)

The Supreme Court (SC) ordered Solicitor General Jose Calida to respond to the comment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on a petition to oust her from her post as the country’s top magistrate.

In a full court session presided by acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio on Tuesday, March 20, the High Court gave Calida, who filed the 34-page petition for quo warranto against Sereno, five days to submit his reply upon receipt of notice.

“In the matter of G.R. No. 237428 (Republic of the Philippines, represented by Solicitor General Jose C. Calida v. Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno), the Court directed the Solicitor General to submit the Republic’s Reply to the respondent Chief Justice’s Comment within five (5) days from its receipt of notice,” the SC’s resolution read.

Earlier this month, the Solicitor General sought Sereno’s removal from the judiciary’s top post through a quo warranto petition before the High Court, citing her alleged failure to submit her statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs) to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) when she applied for the top magistrate post in 2012.

Calida said that Sereno’s blatant disregard to comply with the requirements of the law and Constitution “proves her lack of integrity, hence she is unlawfully holding the position as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.”

In response to this petition, Sereno’s camp on Monday sought the dismissal of Calida’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction and merit.

Sereno, in her 77-page comment, said that the SC has no power to remove her, citing Section 2, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution and jurisprudence as basis. She added that the High Tribunal “cannot take cognizance of or give due course to the [Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) petition] without running afoul of the plain dictates of the fundamental law and established judicial precedents.”

The Chief Justice insisted that the only way to oust her from her office is upon impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court.

She maintained that she complied with the SALN law when she was a law professor at the University of the Philippines (UP), and that she is willing to prove this in the Senate impeachment trial “without prejudice to jurisdictional and relevance objections.

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The top magistrate earlier said that she looks forward to her impeachment trail before the Senate as she is counting on the chamber for fairness.