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Online petition asking for junking of oust-Sereno plea to be sent to SC


An online petition seeking the dismissal of the ouster bid against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno will be submitted to the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday.

Behind the change.org petition is Hesed Jack Alvarez, who calls Solicitor General Jose Calida's petition for quo warranto a "brazen violation of the Constitution and the rule of law, and a threat to the credibility of the Supreme Court as an institution," according to the Sereno supporter group Coalition for Justice (CFJ).

As of posting, the petition has earned over 16,500 signatures.

Calida's petition questions the validity of Sereno's appointment to the country's highest judiciary post over her alleged lack of integrity. He accuses her of not filing all of her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) during her 20-year stint as a law professor at the University of the Philippines.

Sereno has sought the dismissal of this pleading for lack of jurisdiction, saying she can only be removed from office through impeachment.

The SC may decide this case this month.

"The Quo Warranto petition is politically motivated, malicious, wasteful, and unlawful. It trivializes the power of the Senate and squanders taxpayers’ money. Assuming jurisdiction over this case would erode the credibility of the Supreme Court and threaten its very foundations as an institution," the online petition says.

Sereno's supporters, including Alvarez, are holding a nine-day vigil in front of the SC in Manila, lasting until May 10, according to CFJ in a press statement.

This vigil "highlights the serious consequences of a pro-quo warranto ruling on judicial independence, and the impact of a compromised judicial system on current national issues," the event's organizers Pastor Caloy M. Diño and activist priest Fr. Robert Reyes said.

"The vigil also aims to draw attention to the fact that many of the victims of injustice and the attack on truth are women," they said. — BM, GMA News

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