SC justice to Sereno: Why did you delete my recommendation in TRO vs party-list proclamation?

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has been accused of "deleting" a fellow magistrate's recommendation in the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the high court stopping the Comelec from further proclaiming winning party-list groups in the May 13 elections.

 

In a letter dated May 29, Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro called the attention of Sereno after the former learned about the deletion of her recommendation that the TRO should only cover the petition of Coalition of Associations of Senior Citizens in the Philippines Inc. and no other groups.

 

In the TRO issued last Wednesday, the SC - through Sereno - acted on a petition from the Senior Citizens party-list group that contested a May 10 resolution by the Comelec disqualifying the group three days before the scheduled elections.

 

But instead of stopping only the Comelec ruling, the SC TRO covered the entire party-list proclamation process.

 

"With respect to the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Office of the Chief Justice... it appears that the version released by the OCJ omitted my recommendation for the Comelec to be restrained from implementing the assailed Comelec Resolution promulgated on May 10, 2013, delisting and disqualifying petitioner Coalition of Associations of Senior Citizens in the Philippines Inc," De Castro said.

As of posting time, GMA News Online has yet to reach Sereno for her comments. 

For his part, Supreme Court Public Information chief and spokesman Theodore Te told GMA News Online: "I have not spoken to her [Sereno] yet."

Sereno's TRO
 

De Castro said she only learned of the supposed omission when she was furnished a copy of Sereno's TRO last Wednesday.

"The said omission radically changed my recommended action that would have preserved the status quo ante, i.e. to maintain the petitioner in the registry of party-list coaltions, pending disposition of the merits of the case," she said.

 

"It is my opinion that the proper subject of the TRO is the enjoinment of the implementation of the assailed Comeelc resolution with respect to the Senior Citizens party-list," De Castro added.

 

De Castro said Sereno's "blanket" TRO against the proclamation of the remaining seats in the party-list may "adversely affect third parties not impleaded in the present case in violation of their right to due process."

 

She added that the TRO might be deemed as an "overbroad restriction" of the Comelec's constitutional right to proclaim winners in the party-list elections, which is "beyond what is necessary in the present case."

 

De Castro said there was "merit" in Sereno's observation that other party-list groups might be affected by the continued proclamation of winners by the Comelec, however, "such a situation is only an extreneous issue and merely anticipatory."

 

She said she believed the Senior Citizens party-list would suffer "irreparable injury" if the group is disqualified pending resolution of its petition on the merits.

Not the first time

 

It was not the first time that De Castro had formally called the attention of Sereno concerning her actions.

 

In December last year, De Castro revealed how Sereno has reopened a judicial office in the Visayas and made it appear it had the go signal of the full court when it did not.

 

At the time, De Castro also wrote a letter to Sereno asking her to recall Administrative Order 175-2012, which Sereno reportedly issued to revive the Regional Court Administration Office (RCAO) in Region 7 in Cebu City and delegate Program Management Head Faith Econg as its officer in charge.

 

De Castro admitted she "regretted having to write" the letter-memorandum but said she had to raise her concern about Sereno's order that has yet to get the approval of the court en banc.

 

De Castro stressed that only the court en banc is constitutionally authorized to decide on administrative matters like the reopening of the RCAO-7 and with assistance of the Office of the Court Administrator, currently headed by Midas Marquez.

 

She said the en banc in a full court session last November 27, 2012 tackled the plan to reopen the RCAO-7 but did not reach a decision because several justices opposed the idea. She added they were under the impression that Sereno, as she had expressed during the session, would make necessary amendments based on the other justices' concerns. — RSJ, GMA News