Palace urges CJ Sereno to resign to spare judiciary from further damage

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno should resign from her post to spare the judiciary from further damage that would result from an impeachment case, Malacañang said on Monday.

"So I call upon Chief Justice Sereno to really consider resigning if only to spare the institution from any further damage," newly-appointed presidential spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque said in a briefing.

“The best way to protect the institution is to forego with the trial altogether and save the institution from further damage,” he also added.

He said Sereno should “reexamine very carefully” the effect of another impeachment case.

Roque said that it would be difficult for the judiciary to recover if the Senate decides to remove another Chief Justice for the second time. He added that the Supreme Court could not afford it.

“It cannot be that there will be a second instance that a sitting Chief Justice will be removed as a result of decision of the Senate. We cannot wait for that. If we were to wait for that, it is the finding of guilt that will undermine the independence of the judiciary,” he said.

Roque was made to react to Sereno's statement that there was a "resurgence of political forces threatening and harassing the independence of the judiciary."

Roque denied that Malacañang had been involved in any efforts to undermine the judiciary. He also said that an impeachment proceeding could not be used to compromise the judiciary because it’s a constitutional procedure.

"She has only to blame herself if she feels that the impeachment proceeding has affected the independence of the judiciary," he added.

Though the impeachment proceeding has yet to reach the Senate, Roque—a former member of the House Committee on Justice—said he had already read the complaint, Sereno’s response, and all the other replies.

“I’m very bothered by the allegations, which to my mind are supported not just by substantial evidence but very convincing evidence that some of the grounds may in fact be impeachable,” he said.

Roque, however, denied that his statements indeed prove that the executive branch was undermining the judiciary.

“I’m commenting about an impeachment proceeding and it has nothing to do with the judiciary. It’s about the personal liability of an impeachable officer,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sept. 30 challenged Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales to resign with him.

"I now challenge Carpio to resign with me at itong si Supreme Court [Chief] Justice, sige nga," Duterte said during the installation of new Integrated Bar of the Philippines officers in Davao City.

"I challenge the two, we will go to Congress, in a simple ceremony, we sign the letter of resignation. Sige nga," he added.

Won't quit

Reacting to the Palace's call, Sereno's camp maintained the top magistrate would not quit her post.

"As previously declared, resignation has never been an option," said lawyer Carlo Cruz, one of Sereno's spokespersons.

Cruz said Sereno needed to face the impeachment proceeding at the House of Representatives "precisely to preserve the dignity and independence of both the Supreme Court and the Office of the Chief Justice."

"She has done nothing to 'damage' the institution, and she has been doing everything to strengthen it," Cruz said. —with a report from Virgil Lopez/KG, GMA News