SC reprimands Sereno

The Supreme Court (SC) reprimanded yesterday former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno for discussing the merits of the quo warranto case that led to her ouster as head of the judiciary.

Sereno was also sanctioned “for casting aspersions and ill motives to the members of the Supreme Court.”

In a resolution after yesterday’s full court session, the SC warned Sereno “that a repetition of the same acts will merit a heavier penalty.”

The May 11 decision that ousted Sereno directed her “to show cause” why she should not be sanctioned for violating the Code of Professional Responsibility and the Code of Judicial Conduct for transgressing the sub judice rule and for casting aspersions and ill motives to the members of the Supreme Court.

Under the sub judice rule, a matter that is under judicial or court consideration “may not be an appropriate subject to comment on publicly” and “any such comment may subject the commentator to contempt of court.”

Published reports which were given judicial notice by the SC showed that Sereno appeared in several fora and media interviews where she openly criticized her fellow magistrates for taking cognizance of the quo warranto petition. She had also insisted that only impeachment, not quo warranto, could remove her as Chief Justice.

Sereno had also criticized six of her colleagues – De Castro, Peralta, Bersamin, Francis H. Jardeleza, Samuel R. Martires, Noel G. Tijam – for participating in the resolution of the quo warranto case despite their testimonies in the congressional inquiry on the impeachment complaints filed against her.

The decision that ousted Sereno became final last June 19 which paved the way for the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to open its search for a new Chief Justice.