Roque: Quo warranto cannot be used to unseat President, VP

Malacañang does not agree with a part of the Supreme Court's ruling ousting Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, which says the presidence and vice president can be removed through a quo warranto action.

The SC, in its 8-6 decision ousting Sereno, said a quo warranto petition may be filed by any registered voter against the president and the vice president on the grounds of ineligibility or disloyalty to the country within 10 days after the proclamation of the winners of these posts.

The provision can be found in the rules of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, which is composed of all 15 SC justices.

"Hindi po kami naniniwala diyan," Roque, a lawyer, said, adding only Sereno was found ineligible to occupy the position of chief justice for lack of integrity over incomplete submission of her declarations of wealth when she applied for the post in 2012.

"Well, there are other grounds for quo warranto, citizenship for instance. If there is a requirement that one should be a national born citizen and that is a requirement also for the Supreme Court, then if there are issues involving citizenship of a Supreme Court Justice then it could be filed and questioned through a petition for quo warranto," he added.

In ousting Sereno, the high court said that the 1987 Constitution also allows the removal of an impeachable officer through other means, in this case, the quo warranto action.

Reading the Constitution as prohibiting a remedy other than impeachment is "to deprive the State of a remedy to correct a 'public wrong' arising from defective or void appointments," the SC said.

The impeachable officers are the president, the vice president, members of the SC, members of the constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman. —ALG, GMA News