MANILA – Solicitor General Jose Calida has asked the Supreme Court to remove Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Seeking to nullify the appointment of Sereno, Calida filed a petition for quo warranto at the high court on Monday.
A quo warranto proceeding is initiated by the government to remove an unqualified official from their position, Calida told a news conference on Monday, citing Rule 66 of the Rules of Court.
“I don’t expect you to appreciate this but, believe me, this is an act of kindness to a fellow lawyer,” Calida said. “Quo warranto is the proper remedy to question the validity of Sereno’s appointment.”
“The Office of the Solicitor General will not allow you to undergo the indignity that the late Chief Justice Renato Corona suffered at the hands of politicians who unjustly convicted him. You do not deserve that,” he added.
Section 7 (3) of the same rule requires that a member of the judiciary “must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence,” said the solicitor general.
“Unfortunately for respondent Sereno, she flunked the test of integrity when she failed to file more or less 10 SALNs (statements of assets, liabilities and net worth),” Calida said.
Sereno’s camp had insisted that a chief justice may be removed from office only via impeachment.
“A lawyer who has a basic grasp of our Constitution and jurisprudence ought to know that impeachment and quo warranto are two entirely different proceedings with entirely different grounds for filing,” Calida said.
“Under Section 2, Article XI of the Constitution, impeachable officers may be removed from office on impeachment and conviction of culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust,” he added.
Sereno was accused of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and other high crimes.
The House of Representatives Committee on Justice is set to vote on March 7 on the existence of probable cause in the impeachment complaint that lawyer Lorenzo Gadon filed against Sereno.
Sereno has been on indefinite leave since March 1 as she prepares for a possible impeachment trial at the Senate.
CARPIO SPEAKS
Meanwhile Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio clarified that Supreme Court justices were not ganging up on Sereno for wanting her to go on indefinite leave.
Thirteen magistrates called on Sereno to take a leave to “preserve the integrity” of the high tribunal as she battles an impeachment complaint, Carpio told a cable news channel on Monday.
“There was a discussion on how best to preserve the integrity of the Supreme Court, how to insulate the Supreme Court from the trial, from all of these political moves,” Carpio said.
“At the end of the day there was an agreement that she will go on leave with her consent and agreement,” he said.
They wanted to show the public that the high court is “functioning normally and will not be affected by impeachment proceedings,” he said.
“The basis for that indefinite leave is the consensus of all the justices, including the chief justice, so it’s voluntary on her part to take a leave of absence until after the impeachment trial ends,” Carpio clarified.
Tuesday last week her spokesman Joel Lacanilao said Sereno will take a two-week “wellness leave” but the justices countered this, saying the leave is actuallu “indefinite.”
Amid the confusion, the Supreme Court issued a statement saying 13 magistrates have reached “a consensus” that Sereno should take an indefinite leave. Sereno apologized for the “inaccuracy” in conveying the nature of her leave./PN
