Supreme irony

THE tragic irony of it all is that it was the Supreme Court justices themselves who’ve tarnished their own institution. Mark this date on your calendar, Friday, May 11, 2018. It was the day eight associate justices of the high court voted to disqualify Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno from office.

They accomplished their deed through an obscure Constitutional provision called quo warranto that applies to a public official deemed unqualified for his or her position.

But the chief justice is a Constitutional officer and therefore can only be removed from office through impeachment. And, even if the quo warranto petition can be used in the case of Ms. Sereno, it can only be used within one year after assumption of the office, which she’s held since 2012.

Allies of the ruling power found an arcane provision in the Constitution to get rid of Sereno, who earned the ire of President Duterte because of her independence. He couldn’t fire her because a Constitutional official like her can only be unseated through impeachment.

They did try impeachment early on. But the impeachment charges were so weak, even diehard anti-Serenos weren’t sure the charges would stick.

They tried and tried to find the proverbial smoking gun through extended hearings in the House of Representatives. They played for time to discover justifications for impeachment by dragging the hearings for months. Still, no smoking gun.

Then they decided to try quo warranto, which at first was a no-go because the Constitution is clear about impeachment being the only legal way to unseat the chief justice. But they were desperate, so they persisted.

The anti-Sereno justices must be lousy poker players. From the beginning, they couldn’t hide their hatred of Sereno.

At the House impeachment hearings, they took turns badmouthing the Chief Justice, their own boss. But, the grievances turned out to be in-house complaints that could have been resolved internally. They didn’t have to make sumbong to the congress just to get Sereno out of their lives.

In an unprecedented move, six of the 14 associate justices attended the House hearings to vent their spleen on Sereno. Their gripes were indecorous, unbecoming and unseemly. For the first time in history, Supreme Court justices exposed themselves as petty mortals. Their behavior at the hearings was undignified.

Still, the proponents of impeachment weren’t sure of the strength of their case. They bided their time. Until the solicitor general stumbled upon quo warranto.

Whether they realize it or not, the eight associate justices (the vote was a close 8-6), have caused the highest court of the land to crumble, like one of those sand castles local boys build for tourists in Boracay. It’s not the same institution anymore, and will never be the same as before, when the brightest lawyers in the land stood in awe before the robed men and women of the high court.

Whether they realize it or not, the men and women of the Philippine Supreme Court have stained and soiled the robes they wear at deliberations.

Around noontime last Friday, May 11, if you heard bells ringing, they were the ones tolling the death knell for Philippine democracy.

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Tantrum Ergo. When the government says “China will protect us,” it makes you ask: “From whom, China?”