Sereno denies allegations in impeach rap
A prudent public servant who lives a modest life and with a clear conscience.
This was how Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno described herself as she addressed for the first time yesterday the allegations by groups seeking her ouster via impeachment.
The complainants in the impeachment case against Sereno cited as among the grounds her alleged undisclosed assets in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) and extravagant spending of judicial funds by purchasing a P5-million Toyota Land Cruiser and traveling on firstclass flights.
“I have always lived a life of modesty. I have been prudent in the use of the court’s resources. All the expenses for judicial reforms, my travels, my security and vehicle requirements are all regular and aboveboard,” Sereno said in a general denial she issued when she faced the media in her annual meet the press event held in Cebu City.
Sereno believes that public documents released by the SC to the impeachment complainants would vindicate her.
In a ruling last Aug. 8, the SC unanimously granted the request of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. (VPCI) – who filed the first complaint against Sereno in the House of Representatives – for several documents that would supposedly support their allegations against her.
Among the records ordered released to VACC and VPCI were the SC’s revocation of Sereno’s order in 2012 to reopen a regional constitutional administrative office (RCAO) in Cebu without the collegial approval of the Court.
The SC also granted the release of Sereno’s memorandum for appointment of lawyer Solomon Lumba as her staff head and the subsequent letter of Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio withdrawing his signature in the appointment over an internal issue.
In another ruling last Aug. 15, the high court granted the release of additional documents for the impeachment of Sereno as requested by lawyer Larry Gadon, who is set to file the second impeachment complaint against Sereno.
Among these were Sereno’s SALNs since she was appointed to the SC in 2010 and documents pertaining to the purchase of Sereno’s luxury service vehicle and her travels.
“The record will speak for itself and I have not objected to the public release of the same,” Sereno said.
She, however, inhibited from the Court’s deliberations on the requests.
In the same forum, Sereno said she is unfazed by the impeachment charges against her and continues to work to improve the judiciary.
“That’s the beauty of having a clear conscience; it does not affect me at all... If I take an inordinate amount of time looking at it and being exasperated by those documents, work will not be done,” she explained.
Asked about the criticism of President Duterte of a government official who has been extravagant in spending government funds, Sereno said she did not feel alluded to.
She only recalled staying at a presidential suite of a hotel in Boracay during the meeting of chief justices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but stressed that it was offered for free as part of a package and no government funds were spent there.
‘Follow proper processes’
At the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Summit 2017, Sereno reminded the government to avoid recklessly issuing regulations without going through a consultation process to avoid hurtful disruption to legitimate operations.
“Courts are there to ensure that proper processes are followed,” she told MCCI members who organized the event.
Sereno said that when corruption or vindictiveness affects the actions of the government, citizens must be able to rescind and everyone must follow the law.
“No one can steal from the public treasury and no one can oppress our people,” she said in her more than hourlong speech, during which she also discussed judicial reforms already in place.