Lagman: Petition vs Sereno bound to fail
ALBAY Representative Edcel Lagman said that the planned filing of a petition against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at the Supreme Court will fail as there are no impeachable offenses against the top magistrate.
“This double-barrel assault against the chief magistrate is bound to boomerang because there are no credible and concrete impeachable offenses against Sereno, while the one-year prescriptive period for filing an action for quo warranto has long prescribed pursuant to Section 11 of Rule 66 of the Rules of Court,” Lagman said on Sunday, March 4.
“Moreover, the appointment of Sereno is valid and constitutional as it complied with the basic requirements of the Constitution and her appointment was endorsed to former President Benigno Aquino III by the Judicial and Bar Council five years ago,” he added.
Last week, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the Office of the Solicitor General should ask the Supreme Court to nullify the alleged invalid appointment of Sereno.
This was after it was discovered during the series of hearing on the impeachment filed against Sereno that she had scored a failing grade in the psychiatric exam administered to her by the JBC and that she failed to submit the required documents to the said office when she applied for her position as Chief Justice in 2012.
Last March 1, the Chief Justice was compelled to take an indefinite leave by her colleagues at the Supreme Court. (SunStar Philippines)