Duterte vows to quit if proven he had role in Sereno ouster

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday denied any involvement in the ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno by the Supreme Court (SC) on the strength of the petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida.

Voting 8 to 6, the SC on May 11 granted Calida’s plea that Sereno failed to meet the integrity requirement for members of the judiciary due to incomplete submission of her declarations of wealth to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) when she applied for the post in 2012.

He said he will resign if proven that he had a hand in Sereno's dismissal.

"I said [if] there was one congresswoman or congressman or single justice magsabi may kinausap ako diyan, I can guarantee you, I will resign," Duterte said.

Following the release of the ruling, Sereno indicated that Duterte could have stopped Calida's ouster bid against her if the President wanted, but he did not.

Duterte, in response, said he "never lifted a finger" to oust Sereno, whom he has had disagreements with over controversial issues including the war on drugs and the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

"It was his [Calida] job to find faults. I do not order Cabinet members to work on this, work on that. Whatever he thinks that it is his duty to perform, di ako nakikialam," the President told reporters in Malacañang.

"Whatever he thinks that it is his duty to perform, di ako nakikialam," he added.

Duterte also said it was "out of his character" to run after adversaries.

"Hindi ako nanghahabol ng tao," he said. "Kaya ngayon I challenge everybody and anybody. Magturo ng isang congresswoman or isang congressman o senador or Justice ng Supreme Court na nilapitan ko o maski na abogado lang naman kung wala na kayong makitang iba. Hindi naman ako nakikialam."

Malacañang has since called on the public to respect the SC's landmark decision and said it was unlikely for the SC to change its mind.

Sereno is expected to appeal the ruling she found to be “unacceptable on so many levels.” —NB, GMA News