Sereno seeks recusal of SC Associate Justice Martires, alleges bias

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno filed a pleading with the Supreme Court on Friday asking for the recusal of Associate Justice Samuel Martires for allegedly showing "actual bias."

“The Chief Justice, with due respect, has reasonable grounds to believe that the Hon. Associate Justice Samuel R. Martires has manifested actual bias against her which should disqualify him from participating in these proceedings,” Sereno said in the pleading, citing Canon 3, Section 5(a) of the New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary.

Sereno accused Martires of faith-shaming her last April 10 during the oral arguments on the quo warranto petition Solicitor General Jose Calida filed against her.

Martires insinuated that her faith in God could be a sign of mental illness, Sereno said in a statement issued Saturday.

The chief justice has said God is the "source of everything in life." Martires then asked Calida during the oral arguments: “Would you agree it a mental illness when a person always invokes God as the source of his strength? The source of happiness? The source of everything in life? Is that mental illness?”

She also took exception to Martires' next question to Calida, asking if he would agree that the psychiatrist made a wrong evaluation of Sereno in the psychiatric report.

“With due respect, it appears that Justice Martires has formed an opinion on the competence of Respondent (Sereno) to serve as Chief Justice on some basis other than what he learned from his participation in this case. His objectivity and impartiality therefore appears to have been impaired,” Sereno said.

The chief justice said having Martires continue participating in the quo warranto case "would violate her constitutional right to due process."

Sereno previously asked that five other justices recuse themselves from the quo warranto proceedings due to "bias" and "animosity": Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam and Teresita Leonardo de Castro.

She also asked the SC en banc to resolve, without the six justices, the separate motions to inhibit she had filed, and to do so before it decides on the quo warranto petition.

All six of them testified against Sereno at the House of Representatives' impeachment proceeding.

They also "actively participated in the so-called “Red Monday” protest in the SC that called for her resignation," Sereno said. —KG, GMA News