Sereno camp insists appointment as CJ legitimate

The camp of Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno yesterday dismissed questions on the legitimacy of her appointment to the Supreme Court, which were raised during the impeachment hearing at the House of Representatives on Monday.

Lawyer Jojo Lacanilao, one of Sereno’s spokespersons, assailed the opinion of Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, who said the Chief Justice’s appointment “may be considered void.”

Peralta alleged Sereno did not meet the documentary requirements of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for her nomination.

Lacanilao questioned the credibility and impartiality of Peralta as a witness and accused the magistrate of hav- ing an “ax to grind” against Sereno.

“Justice Peralta’s wife, Court of Appeals Associate Justice Audrey Peralta, was excluded from the shortlist of nominees for CA presiding justice submitted by the JBC to President Duterte last year,” Lacanilao said, adding the CA justice filed her requirements late.

Sereno is ex-officio chair of the JBC.

Lacanilao said Peralta repeatedly complained about his wife’s exclusion from the JBC shortlist during all the impeachment hearings at which he was present.

“Justice Peralta should have some delicadeza by not allowing personal disappointments to color his testimonies before the justice committee,” he said.

He said Peralta was JBC chair when Sereno was nominated for the chief justice post in 2012, and that the magistrate signed the shortlist submitted to the Palace, which means he approved Sereno’s eligibility for the post.

Lacanilao called Peralta a “Pontius Pilate,” saying contrary to the magistrate’s claim, the Chief Justice met the requirements of the JBC.

He said Sereno submitted three SALNs which she had filed since she was appointed associate justice in 2010.

He said the SALNs covered the period 2009, 2010 and 2011. Sereno did not submit SALNs for the previous years because she was in private practice prior to her appointment to the high court.

Peralta told the House justice committee that Sereno’s application for chief justice should have been rejected because of her failure to submit the required SALNs.

He chaired the JBC during the selection process for chief justice in 2012, to replace former chief justice Renato Corona, as the other senior justices were also nominated for the post at that time.

Another witness, Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, said a “great injustice” was done to all applicants for chief justice when Sereno was included in the selection despite the lack of requirements.

Peralta said that JBC officials who included Sereno in the list of nominees for chief justice could be held criminally liable under the law.

“They can be held liable under the law for giving un- warranted benefits to the Chief Justice,” he said.

Peralta told the House committee that Sereno should not have been included in the applicants for having failed to comply with the 10-year SALN rule.

“The only way you can be cleared for the non-filing of SALN is to prove that you filed your SALN. An administrative officer cannot do that. Only the judge can say that you did not commit any crime,” the jurist told Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta.

It has been a policy of the JBC to require applicants to the top SC post to submit their SALNs for the last 10 years prior to their applications, particularly if they have been with the government.

When asked by Marcoleta what happens to the applicant who benefitted from the JBC lapses, Peralta said Sereno’s appointment may be questioned because the appointment may have been void from the beginning.

Peralta and De Castro said they were not informed that Sereno failed to submit her SALNs as required of all candidates for the position.

Peralta said a letter of Sereno dated July 2012 asking to be exempted from the submission of SALN was not presented to the council en banc.

Had he known about the letter, Peralta said he would have objected to the selection of Sereno as chief justice because that is a deviation from the rules requiring all applicants to submit their SALNs.