Bam Aquino urges other senators to sign resolution vs. SC's quo warranto ruling

Senator Bam Aquino on Wednesday urged his fellow senators to sign the minority bloc's resolution against the Supreme Court's (SC) quo warranto decision ousting Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

"A resolution is making the rounds in the Senate to categorically oppose the SC's unconstitutional quo warranto decision," Aquino said in a statement.

The resolution only had three signatures as of Tuesday.

Aquino said the Senate must "stand together" against the SC's decision.

He reiterated that the SC violated the rule of law and denied the Filipinos' "right to hear the truth through a public impeachment trial."

The quo warranto petition was filed Solicitor General Jose Calida before the SC amid the impeachment proceedings against Sereno at the House of Representatives.

Sereno had accused Calida of forum shopping, which the government lawyer denied.

House justice committee chairman Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali had said he was no longer inclined to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

Umali said he felt that the Senate impeachment trial's outcome may go against the SC's quo warranto ruling against Sereno, and may cause a constitutional crisis.

On Tuesday, members of the Coalition for Justice went around offices of senators to convince them to assert the Senate's "exclusive right" to try an impeachable official.

Aquino said in his statement that because of the SC's ruling on the quo warranto petition, the public may be "fiercely vigilant and discerning" of the high court's rulings.

"They should know that the Filipino people are watching," the senator added. —ALG, GMA News