IBP to counter quo warranto plea vs Sereno

 

MANILA – The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said yesterday it will file before the Supreme Court a petition to dismiss the quo warranto petition that Solicitor General Jose Calida initiated against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

The IBP’s Board of Governors arrived at the decision to file the intervention during a meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement signed by IBP national president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo.

“The IBP has the fundamental duty, shared with the Supreme Court, to uphold the Constitution, advocate for the rule of law and safeguard the administration of justice,” read part of the statement.

“The IBP Board of Governors thus decided to participate in the proceedings and offer legal insights, with careful effort not to fall into the trap of providing a simplistic answer to the rather complicated question that now confronts the judiciary, the resolution of which is of transcendental importance to our democracy,” it added.

The national organization of lawyers pointed out four salient points in its opposition:

* Under the Constitution, impeachment is the only mode of removal of an impeachable officer for an impeachable offense.

* The Supreme Court may not inquire into the Chief Justice’s alleged lack of integrity without violating the fundamental principle of separation of powers. Having been appointed to her current post, the Chief Justice is presumed to have been previously adjudged by the President as having met the requirement of integrity. Consistent with the separation of powers, such judgment cannot be reviewed, much less reversed, by the Supreme Court. The President remains the ultimate judge of a candidate’s worthiness.

* Entertaining the quo warranto petition on account of the Chief Justice’s supposed lack of integrity is tantamount to subjecting her to the disciplinary authority of the Supreme Court. Under the Constitution, the members of the Supreme Court may not be ordered dismissed by any government authority other than by the Senate after an impeachment proceeding.

* Since the Chief Justice may only be removed via impeachment on a question of integrity, the quo warranto proceedings against her may not prosper because what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly.

An intervention is a remedy by which a non-party in a case may participate in its litigation to protect a right that may be affected by the decision on the case; whether or not a party can intervene is the discretion of the court.

‘ONLY IMPEACHMENT’

Before the IBP, a group of private individuals already filed a separate intervention case with the Supreme Court contesting the quo warranto petition against Sereno.

The petitioners were led by running priest Father Robert Reyes, farmer leader Noland Peñas, former Pag-IBIG fund chief executive officer Mel Alonzo, master’s student Rey Anne Librado, urban poor advocate Alice Gentolia Murphy, and peace and human rights advocate Mardi Suplido.

Impeachment is “the only possible course of action prescribed by the 1987 Constitution that can be undertaken to unseat an impeachable officer like the Chief Justice,” the petitioners said.

Standing by the validity of Sereno’s appointment, the petitioners claimed that the quo warranto petition may be filed within one year after an official has assumed their position.

“The use of quo warranto to unseat a public officer who has been functioning for a long time would certainly disrupt public service,” they said in a statement.

“Any other charges, such as the incomplete submission of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, and her psychological tests, can best be explained in the course of a full-blown impeachment trial now at the doorsteps of the Senate,” the group added.

The House of Representatives Committee on Justice has approved six Articles of Impeachment against Sereno. If these hurdle the House plenary when Congress resumes session in May, they will be transmitted to the Senate, which will convene as an impeachment court.

Sereno was currently on indefinite leave as she prepares for the possible trial. She has repeatedly asked to be given her day at the impeachment court./PN

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here