IBP to seek dismissal of Calida’s petition vs. Sereno

Leaders of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Thursday expressed their intention to challenge the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida questioning the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

In an advisory, IBP's Board of Governors said they will file an intervention with the Supreme Court to seek the dismissal of Calida's petition.

Citing the IBP's duty to uphold the Constitution, the Board said it has decided to join 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."

Calida's petition questions the validity of Sereno's appointment, citing her supposed failure to submit all her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) during her application for the post in 2012.

In her comment to the plea, Sereno insisted that impeachment is the only manner provided by the Constitution with which to remove an impeachable official.

This argument has been echoed by the two groups that already formally sought the dismissal of Calida's petition, and also by IBP.

The IBP Board, meanwhile, contended that the SC "may not inquire" into the issue over Sereno's integrity "without violating the fundamental principles of separation of powers."

The top magistrate's appointment means it is presumed that the president who appointed her had deemed that she met the integrity requirement, a judgment the SC can neither review nor reverse in accordance with the separation of powers, the IBP said.

"Entertaining the quo warranto petition on accountof the Chief Justice's supposed lack of integrity is tantamount to subjecting her to the disciplinary authority of the Supreme Court," it said.

"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."

If the House panel-approved articles of impeachment would clear the House plenary, they would be transmitted to the upper chamber.

In such an event, the Senate will then convene as an impeachment court, although trial proper is not seen to start until August.

Sereno has repeatedly asked to be given her day at the Senate impeachment court.

"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," the IBP said.

The advisory was signed by lawyer Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo, national president of the IBP.

The Makabayan bloc of the House of Representatives, along with former senator Rene Saguisag, and other groups, one of which was led by activist priest Robert Reyes, have filed interventions to oppose Calida's petition. —KBK, GMA News