Let’s end this – Sereno
CJ ready for Senate battle
Facing ouster on two fronts – one in Congress and the other in the institution she leads – Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno yesterday dared her accusers to go full blast in their attacks so they could settle the matter “sooner rather than later.”
“Let’s end this,” Sereno said at a forum of foreign news organizations, addressing critics as well as would-be prosecutors in her imminent Senate impeachment trial.
Aside from impeachment, the chief magistrate also faces ouster through a quo warranto petition filed with the Supreme Court by the Office of the Solicitor General.
“Sabi ko sa kanila, kayo nagsimula, nananahimik ako sa sulok ko, ba’t di mo gustong tapusin? Ibig sabihin ba sumusuko na kayo sa sinimulan niyo? Gusto niyong
daanin sa ibang daan. Bakit ganun? Hindi pa ako nakakasimula ng laban (I told them you started it all, I was just quiet in my corner, why don’t you want to finish it? Does it mean you’re giving up on what you have started? You want to take a different tack? Why? I’ve not started my fight),” she said.
“They should have the courage to either own up and show probable cause, and they said there is, and if there is, go to the Senate,” Sereno told a forum organized by the Foreign
Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap). “Sooner rather than later. Let’s end this.”
Sereno also slammed accusations that she was a mere “lackey” of former president Benigno Aquino III, who appointed her to the top SC post in 2012.
She added it does not bother her that some people were calling her Aquino’s stooge, claiming they had been at odds on many issues.
“It doesn’t hurt me they keep hurling those accusations against me. It means they have nothing more than a convenience of ready-made labels. That is a complete falsehood,” Sereno added.
She would not let employees or justices get caught in the “crossfire” after she was asked about “red Monday.”
Her critics at the SC, including some justices, showed up for work in red last Monday to show their support for her being forced to go on indefinite leave of absence by her own magistrate-colleagues.
“I tell them this frankly, there is a strong political dimension, you can be caught in the crossfire. I do not want you to unduly expose yourselves because I will fight this without asking you to be part of the melee,” she added.
Sereno pointed out the judiciary’s freedom of conscience should be respected, adding it would be “very sad” if judiciary personnel and officials would allow themselves to be unduly influenced by higher-ups.
She stressed she does not want employees denied promotion just for making decisions not favorable to their superiors.
“I would rather have them stay out of that,” she added.
Battle ready
Sereno described herself as “calm and battle ready” a day after the House committee on justice found probable cause to have her tried in an impeachment court.
“What they have done is not unexpected. I had expected that from the start and I reiterate my call for them to elevate it to the Senate,” Sereno said.
“I’m going to stick it out to the end… My side will be given. I will have my day in the impeachment court. That’s why I keep on repeating, give me my day in the impeach court,” she added.
Sereno challenged the House of Representatives to immediately transmit the case against her to the Senate so that the truth would come out.
“There is already the impression that one side had been given and they were not able to make up any case,” she said.
“Nothing that they have said sticks to me because that is not true… There is virtue in prudence. I have not opened my mouth, and yet they have not been believed,” she added, referring to the allegations made against her during the proceedings at the House committee on justice.
The Chief Justice declined to discuss merits of the case but gave a brief comment on allegations regarding her wealth.
“You cannot accumulate wealth in UP. Your problem is unexplained poverty, not hidden wealth,” she said, referring to her job as a professor in the state university prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court.
“I have absolutely nothing to hide and I cannot hide anything because what is disclosed in my SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth) is what there is. In fact, all the evidence points to a very simple lifestyle,” she added.
She also slammed moves to release her psychological report, crying foul over what she dubbed as “faith shaming” that she claimed she had been subjected to.
“Are they trying to say that I am unfit because I believe in God so deeply?... Is that the intention? If they are bent on faith shaming, they are doing a disservice to the Filipino people because the Constitution itself talks about belief in God,” she added.
Sereno agreed that the efforts against her were motivated by politics. But despite her differences with other magistrates, she added the SC could still be united when the dust settles.
“In any organization, there will be occasions when these kinds of problems will arise. I am sure that in time, when the dust settles, we will all come around again and move forward in the delivery of justice to our people,” she said,
Sereno said it is up to the public to believe or reject the statement from Malacañang that President Duterte has nothing to do with the attempts to unseat her.
“We’ll have to ask Solicitor General (Jose) Calida from which particular impetus or authority these actions he has been taking come from,” she said, referring to the quo warranto proceedings Calida filed with the SC.
“The President has made it on record several times that he is not involved. Let the people decide on that matter… I note that those statements have been made. But I also note the solicitor general’s participation,” she added.
The Chief Justice maintained that she had never thought of resigning despite the pressure from various sectors, saying she wants to send a strong message to the public that she would fight for judicial independence.
“The impeachment process being ordained in the Constitution is something I have to go through and I simply have to go through it,” she said.
“I just have to go through it regardless of my chances. I don’t think that the Chief Justice should at all signal in the slightest way that she will face a challenge only when she has a good chance of succeeding,” she added.
Sereno reiterated her earlier position that the attempts to unseat her were an issue of judicial independence.
“I think that the message to be received by the public should be when she believes that the cause is right – and the cause here is judicial independence – she will fight no matter the chances, regardless of odds,” she said.
“The battle alone for judicial independence is good for society,” added the top magistrate.