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Doctor says would not have endorsed Sereno for CJ over test, IQ


A psychologist told the House Committee on Justice on Tuesday that she would not have recommended Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to be included in the list of nominees for the position of high magistrate because of the results of a psychological and psychiatric examination she took.

Sereno's had scored a "4" in the test, which she took as part of her application for chief justice in 2012.

At the committee hearing to determine probable cause on the impeachment complaint against Sereno, witness Dr. Geraldine Tria said that Sereno's performance was "marginal."

"And [the position] requires diversified thinking and she's limited on that," Tria added.

In his impeachment complaint, lawyer Lorenzo Gadon argued that the "4" score made Sereno unfit to be the Chief Justice.

In an earlier hearing, former Supreme Court clerk of court Atty. Enriqueta Vidal said that the  psychological and psychiatric examination was given by the psychiatrists of the Judicial and Bar Council.

Symptoms

Tria said that, in her assessment of Sereno's behavior from what she had observed in the hearings, the Chief Justice manifested five of the nine symptoms of "mental disturbance" as enumerated in their standardized diagnostic statistical manual.

These include grandiosity, preoccupied fantasies of unlimited power or brilliance, sense of entitlement, interpersonally exploitative in order to take advantage of others to achieve an end, and lack of empathy.

According to Tria, these symptoms were manifested in several of the allegations in the impeachment complaint.

Sereno had displayed a sense of entitlement when she allegedly purchased a luxury vehicle.

She was interpersonally exploitative when she ignored the collegiality of the Supreme Court in favor of her own personal beliefs.

Sereno then showed a lack of empathy when she allegedly moved to delay the resolution of survivorship-benefits petitions, and she displayed the "preoccupied with fantasies" symptom when she usurped the duties of and disrespected other members of the court.

Tria added that Sereno had a grandiose sense of self-importance because of her allegedly lavish and extravagant lifestyle, as manifested in her stay at a presidential suite and flying in business class.

IQ

Tria also took note of Sereno's IQ of around 109, which she considered to be "average."

The psychologist added that Sereno's IQ was relatively low compared to those of the other chief justice candidates.

Tria said that an applicant with an average IQ should not really be considered for a high position "because it requires more responsibility, decision-making."

"Based on the interview I gathered, there are other [applicants] who have higher mental ability. Why not consider that?" she added.

The House justice panel will vote on Wednesday next week on the probable cause of the impeachment complaint against Sereno. —DVM/KG, GMA News

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