SC affirms Sereno’s ouster

The Supreme Court (SC) has made final its decision that ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno after it denied her appeal against her landmark removal from office.

In a vote of 8-6, the high tribunal denied on Tuesday Sereno's motion for reconsideration that sought the reversal of the granting of the challenge to her eligibility to occupy the coveted top judge post.

SC spokesperson Theodore Te made the announcement in a short media briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

The rejection of Sereno's appeal marks the first day of the 90-day period for filling the vacancy in the Office of the Chief Justice in accordance with the Constitution, Te said.

Last May 11, in an unprecedented move, the SC majority voted in favor of Solicitor General Jose Calida's petition for quo warranto, which questioned Sereno's integrity over the alleged non-filing of some mandatory asset declarations.

Before the month ended, Sereno had appealed her case before her colleagues in a voluminous court filing that reiterated previously raised arguments and packed expressions of protest by lawyers, law teachers and deans and former lawmakers.

Foremost among her contentions was that she could only be removed from office through what she called the only constitutional route of impeachment.

'Not surprised'

In response to the SC's latest blow against its erstwhile leader, Jojo Lacanilao, one of Sereno's spokespersons, warned of a lingering public response.

"We were not surprised by the final result of the SC decision but we remain convinced that the decision is unjust and will be questioned by the people for a long time to come," he said in a text message to reporters.

Sereno's next step is to "vacate her office and continue to be the voice for the people," Lacanilao said. He did not explain this further, though Sereno, for all her anti-Duterte public statements, has previously denied plotting a political career. 

Sanctions

Despite the finality of her ouster, Sereno is not yet completely out of the SC's scrutiny as her colleagues still have to decide whether or not to punish her — and what form the sanction could take — for "casting aspersions and ill motives" to them.

The ousted top judge has recently filed her compliance to the SC's show cause order, where she said it was her right to publicly defend herself against her accusers given the supposed denial of her rights to due process.

When it disqualified her from the Office of the Chief Justice last month, the SC also made Sereno explain why she should not be sanctioned for violating the Code of Professional Responsibility and the Code of Judicial Conduct.

The SC said Sereno may be held liable for  "repeatedly discussing the merits" of her case in a manner that could sway the tribunal's vote and influence public opinion, a behavior the tribunal can rule as conduct "unbecoming" of a judge and a lawyer.

But Sereno countered that removing her from the roll of Philippine attorneys on the basis of her "calls for fairness" would be the "height of injustice." —KG/MDM, GMA News