Sereno lawyers want impeach rap dismissed

The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Monday pushed for the dismissal of the impeachment complaint filed against her, saying "the charges alleged are false" and "they do not constitute acts which the Constitution provides for impeachment."

"It's supposed to be true to the personal knowledge and based on authentic records and documents. Our answer would show very clearly that the so-called authentic documents are no more than newspaper reports or articles," lawyer Alexander Poblador, lead counsel for Sereno, said at a press briefing after filing the Chief Justice's reply to the impeachment complaint.

"The public documents are documents that Atty. [Lorenzo] Gadon was able to procure from the Supreme Court (SC). But if you look at these documents, they may be related to some of the charges but they don't support any of the charges. What is left are allegations based on newspaper reports," he added.

Lawyers of CJ Sereno hold press conference. pic.twitter.com/S2f0e6WG3K

— Erwin Colcol (@erwincolcol) September 25, 2017

Contrary to Gadon's allegations, Sereno, in her 85-page reply, said she did not culpably violate the Constitution to "falsify" any resolution, temporary restraining order or issuance of the high court.

"Resolutions of the SC En Banc are drafted based solely on the notes of the Chief Justice... For obvious reasons, the Chief Justice cannot 'falsify' her own notes," the reply read.

Sereno also did not "internally delay" action on petitions for requirement and/or survivorship benefits, which applications are required to be decided by the SC as a collegial body.

The Chief Justice also fully disclosed her assets, liabilities and net worth, the reply read, and she paid the corresponding taxes on income she received from PIATCO cases.

"She earned these fees from services faithfully rendered to the Republic, and not from corruption. She declared all the fees received in her income tax returns for 2004 to 2009, and she paid the corresponding taxes thereon," the reply read.

Corruption?

Aside from these, Sereno argued she did not commit corruption, saying the acquisition of the Toyota Land Cruiser was "neither an illegal nor an 'extravagant' use of public funds."

"No less than the Supreme Court En Banc itself, in a Resolution dated 28 March 2017... approved the acquisition of the Land Cruiser for the price of P5,110,500," the reply read.

It added the the Chief Justice is exempted from the prohibition against the acquisition and the use of luxury security vehicles under Section 3.1 of Department of Budget and Management Administrative Order No. 233.

Sereno's travels on "business class" is likewise not indicative of corruption or "extravagant or lavish lifestyle," the reply read. She also has not yet traveled on first class as the Chief Justice.

At the same time, Sereno belied Gadon's allegation that she brings a "huge entourage of lawyers" during her foreign trips.

"There is no rule which prohibits the Chief Justice from bringing her staff on foreign trips. That said, the Chief Justice never brought with her 'a huge entourage' of lawyers during her trips abroad. She brought only such number of lawyers as were necessary," the reply read.

High crimes?

The Chief Justice never ordered any judge not to issue warrants of arrest against Senator Leila De Lima for her drug-related charges, as what Gadon alleged.

"This is a barefaced lie. The Chief Justice has never spoken to any of these judges on this matter, and neither did she instruct any Supreme Court official to instruct the justices to not issue a warrant of arrest," the reply read.

Sereno likewise did not instruct Courts of Appeals justice not to heed the House of Representatives orders in connection with the "Ilocos 6," it added.

At the same time, she did not "embellish" her Personal Data Sheet in applying for the Judiciary "to overstate her credentials."

Even if Gadon claimed that there is no "Deputy Commissioner" position in the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Sereno said she indeed possessed the functional title of Deputy Member of the Presidential Committee on Human Rights, and later on, Deputy Commissioner of the CHR.

Betrayal of public trust?

Sereno, meanwhile, said in the reply that the hiring of the Information and Communications Technology consultant was done in accordance with the Government Procurement Reform Law, with no "excessive" compensation.

The ICT consultant, Helen Perez-Macasaet, was hired by the Supreme Court from among three choices through negotiated procurement and, therefore, exempted from public bidding.

The Chief Justice's "misplaced" reply to President Rodrigo Duterte on the judges linked to drugs was also not tantamount to a "betrayal of public trust," the reply read.

Sereno could also not prevent Court of Appeals justices to make a courtesy call on the President.

She may, however, occasionally remind the justices of the First Canon of the Code of Conduct entitled "Independence."

Reminding the CA justices of such canon, the reply read, is not equivalent to "betrayal of public trust."

Sereno likewise did not attack the imposition of martial law in Mindanao in a commencement address.

"At the time, the imposition of martial law had not been questioned before the Supreme Court," the reply read.

Poblador is hoping that members of the House Justice Committee would exercise judicial power vested upon them by the Constitution in the impeachment proceedings of Sereno.

"Like judges, therefore, they should decide on the basis of facts and law and not on the dictates of their political leaders in line with some political agenda," he said. — RSJ, GMA News