Sereno allies rally as SC resumes full court sessions

Supporters of ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno gathered near the Supreme Court (SC) on the day its magistrates resumed en banc sessions and are reported to decide on her appeal against her landmark removal from office.

Members of the Sereno-supportive Coalition for Justice (CFJ) and their allied organizations held a program near the intersection of Padre Faura Street and Taft Avenue in Ermita, Manila Tuesday morning, closing a section of the former to motorists.

The CFJ called on the high tribunal to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law as it decides on Sereno's motion for reconsideration asking her colleagues to reverse its "null and void" decision disqualifying her from the Office of the Chief Justice.

Supporters of ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno mobilize along Padre Faura St. in Manila, awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on the top judge's appeal against her removal from office last May 11. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/RbDFx5sQ6A

— Nicole-Anne Lagrimas (@nclagrimas) June 5, 2018

Last May 11, the SC, voting 8-6, granted Solicitor General Jose Calida's petition for quo warranto, a pleading which sought the nullification of Sereno's appointment to the top judge post in 2012 over an alleged lack of integrity.

Sereno appealed on May 30, maintaining her constant position that she, as a member of the SC, could only be removed from office through impeachment.

She also said the SC's historic decision ousting her was riddled with "numerous legal and factual errors" and violated her right to due process given the refusal of six of her fellow magistrates to recuse themselves from deciding the case due to allegations of bias. —KG, GMA News