Sereno files motion on SC’s quo warranto ruling

OUSTED CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court ( SC) to reverse its landmark May 11 ruling which approved Solicitor- General Jose C. Calida’s quo warranto petition and voided her appointment as top magistrate.

According to Ms. Sereno’s 205-page motion for reconsideration, “the decision was rendered in violation of Respondent’s fundamental right to due process, and hence, is null and void.”

Citing bias from the court, Ms. Sereno said, “the six disqualified Justices ought to have inhibited themselves from hearing and deciding the case” as “there were compelling grounds to believe that they were not impartial.”

Ms. Sereno said the court denied her due process when it allowed Associate Justices Diosdado M. Peralta, Teresita L. De Castro, Francis H. Hardeleza, Noel G. Tijam, Lucas P. Bersamin, and Samuel R. Martires to hear her case despite showing apparent bias and prejudice for testifying against her before the House Committee on Justices.

“The existence of an impartial tribunal is a fundamental prerequisite upon which all other guarantees of due process rest.... Without an impartial and disinterested tribunal, the pledge of due process becomes a myth. The trial is reduced to nothing but a useless formality, an idle ceremony,” her petition read.

She pointed out: “This Honorable Court has required inhibition of trial court judges for far less reasons. Established jurisprudence on the inhibition of judges should be equally applied in this case.”

Ms. Sereno also argued “the Decision is contrary to the Constitution. This Honorable Court is without jurisdiction to oust an impeachable officer via quo warranto.”

“It has always been the rule that impeachable officers can be removed only by impeachment and not by any other means,” her petition read. —