IBP asks SC to reverse decision ousting Sereno

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) yesterday appealed the Supreme Court (SC) decision last month ousting chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on the basis of a quo warranto petition.

The organization of lawyers in the country filed a motion for reconsideration and sought reversal of the ruling even if the group is not a party to the case as the high court did not grant its earlier petition for intervention on the quo warranto case.

The IBP, led by national president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo, backed the ousted chief justice in her bid to reclaim her position and supported the arguments she raised in her appeal.

The group said the SC ruling should be reconsidered because it was tainted with “political considerations and personal biases.”

It argued that the high court overstepped its powers and jurisdiction in invalidating the appointment of Sereno in 2012.

“In so doing, the Honorable Court, with all due respect, assumed a role which, by law and jurisprudence, is outside its turf. This constitutes grave and reversible error,” it claimed.

The IBP alleged that the court became a trier of facts when it resolved the issue of whether Sereno filed her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth or not.

“In the instant case, the Honorable Court sidestepped this age-old rule and took on the role of a trial court, when it received evidence on the issue of respondents’ alleged non-submission of her SALNs and engaged in an in-depth evaluation of such evidence on record,” read the motion.

It also supported Sereno’s argument that the SC ruling violated the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers since it deprived Congress of its power to try Sereno as an impeachable official.

“The Senate, having been vested with the power to try impeachment cases by the Constitution itself, it behooves the Honorable Court to respect the Constitution’s grant of jurisdiction and refrain from exercising a power clearly bestowed by the Constitution on another Tribunal or otherwise frustrating the exercise of such power by the Constitutional Tribunal,” the IBP explained.

The IBP further accused the Court of also overstepping the power of the Judicial and Bar Council to screen nominees for judicial posts, since the ruling effectively reviewed and voided the inclusion of Sereno in the shortlist.

The IBP earlier filed a petition for intervention before the SC to oppose the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida.

But the SC only “noted” the petition without acting on it.

Senators Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes IV, Makabayan bloc of partylist lawmakers led by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate and a group of private individuals led by running priest Robert Reyes also filed similar intervention petitions, but the court did not act on them.

Sereno already appealed the ruling, and the Court has ordered Calida to submit his comment before ruling on the case with finality.

Meanwhile, Sereno yesterday hit the “worst kind of misogyny” currently experienced by women, even at the hands of top public officials.

During a forum before student debaters, Sereno said that some people now see strong women who hold positions of power as an impediment.

“It used to be that the previous dispensation and atmosphere was we lauded strong women and celebrated their successes. Now, we have seen the worst kind of misogyny in public conversations,” she said in her speech.

She alluded to the incident last week wherein President Duterte kissed a married woman during a visit in South Korea.

Sereno said that many in the audience were “stunned,” despite Malacañang officials downplaying the kiss as “accepted in Filipino culture.”

She said the youth should not accept such acts and that some political figures are cheapening the image of the Filipina.

Sereno added that it is not enough that leaders supposedly advance women’s rights through their policies and yet their public behavior say otherwise.

She called on the youth to fight for issues that involve human rights and larger issues of national sovereignty, problems on injustices and the “downward spiral toward authoritarianism.”

The youth should also fight the proliferation of fake news and historical revisionism, especially when the President himself is accused of spreading fake news.

She reminded the youth to remember martial law, which impeded the rights of Filipinos.

She also denied that the opposition has made a formal offer for her to join their ticket in the elections next year.

Sereno said she is currently focused on “listening” to the plight of the people and the state of injustice in the country instead of thinking of running for public office.

She said that politics can wait and added there has been no invitation for her to join any slate.

Sereno’s spokesperson was earlier quoted as saying that running for senator in 2019 is “an option” for her.

Sen. Bam Aquino said that they would want “independent” people like Sereno to run in the opposition slate.