Duterte says he directed partymates, not Congress, to impeach Sereno

President Rodrigo Duterte said that when he called for the impeachment of Chief Justice on leave Maria Lourdes Sereno, he was appealing to his partymates and not to Congress.

“I am directing my partymates, I am asking you to impeach the Chief Justice. But the ball is still in the hands of the Supreme Court. I don't know what is coming her way,” Duterte said in a press conference held upon his arrival at the Davao International Airport before dawn on Friday.

Duterte proceeded to launch a tirade against the Chief Justice, especially on her call for judges the President implicated in the illegal drug trade not to surrender in the absence of an arrest warrant.

“You know ‘pag ganun ‘yan, lalaban lahat ‘yan. Eh kung walang warrant, if there is a crime committed in the presence of the military and the police, bakit? Magpo-produce ba siya ng warrant galing sa’yo?” the President said.

“Kaya sabi ko torpe ka, that’s why [you] should not be there. For a Chief Justice, hindi mo alam ‘yan? Bakit ka magbigay ng salita ng ganun? Kaya nagalit ako sa iyo because even an ordinary flunker ng law, alam ‘yan.”

He went as far as calling for the resignation of Sereno.

“Just because you are the Chief Justice, you are not smart. Kasi kung smart ka, matatag ka diyan, walang lalaban sa iyo, at hindi ka nagkakamali sa mga declarations mo. If you are that ignorant, you better go. You are just risking the country into a chaos. Umalis ka na,” he said.

“Tsaka hindi ka dapat diyan talaga in the first place. And that term of yours until what? 2030? That’s too long for an ignorant Chief Justice. It’s too long. Tama na ‘yan. Give way. If I were you, I will resign,” Duterte added.

Last Monday, Duterte called on the House of Representatives to expedite the impeachment of Sereno so she can face trial at the Senate, which will decide whether she should be removed from office.

Sereno’s supposed insistence that he was behind the efforts to oust her irked the President that he declared Sereno an “enemy.”

Sereno on Wednesday hit the President’s latest tirades against her, saying “You have heard the pronouncement of the President. I was just asking a question that actually needed to be answered: Why the Solicitor General was devoting resources of the government to oust a sitting justice through a quo warranto petition?  You heard his answer. His answer betrays the entire story.” — with Virgil Lopez/BAP/KG/RSJ, GMA News