Makabayan bloc, groups ask SC to junk quo warranto case vs. Sereno

Left-leaning lawmakers, a former senator, and other individuals on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the ouster plea against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as they sought the tribunal's nod to their intervention in the case.

The Makabayan bloc of the House of Representatives filed a motion for intervention and an opposition-in-intervention that sought the junking of Solicitor General Jose Calida's petition for quo warranto, making them the second group to formally oppose the removal bid on the same day.

JUST IN: Makabayan bloc, naghain ng motion for intervention sa Korte Suprema para makontra ang quo warranto petition ng OSG laban kay Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. | via @wengsalvacion pic.twitter.com/cAH5u1Lv1G

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) March 22, 2018

The filing of the quo warranto case sets a "very dangerous and ruinous precedent that can even be used against any impeachable officer, including other justices of the Supreme Court who go against the wishes of and in the crosshairs of the administration or interest groups," said Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate in a statement. 

Named intervenors are Zarate, ACT Teachers Partylist Representatives Antonio Tinio and Francisca Castro, Gabriela Women's Party Representatives Emerenciana de Jesus and Arlene Brosas, Anakpawis Party-list Representative Ariel Casilao, and Kabataan Party-list Representative Sarah Jane Elago.

Former Senator Rene Saguisag, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Renato Reyes, Jr., Aksyon Demokratiko affiliate Kaye Ann Legaspi, and National Union of People's Lawyers Secretary General Ephraim Cortez are also included in the list of intervenors.

Also named are Francisco Alcuaz, Bonifacio Ilagan, and Retired Colonel George Rabusa, all convenors of watchdog group Movement Against Tyranny. 

Intervention is a remedy by which a third party who is not originally impleaded in a case may participate in its litigation in order to protect a right that may be affected by the decision on the case. Whether or not a party can intervene is the discretion of the court.

A small group of individuals led by activist priest Robert Reyes also filed an intervention opposing Calida's quo warranto petition earlier on Thursday.  

The group, which also includes farmer leader Noland Peñas, former Pag-IBIG fund chief executive officer Mel Alonzo, master's student Rey Anne Librado, urban poor advocate Alice Gentolia Murphy and peace and human rights advocate Mardi Suplido, said impeachment is the only way provided by the Constitution to remove an impeachable official from his/her post.

Motion to intervene, opposition-in-intervention

In defending their pleading, the group said they are all Filipino citizens and taxpayers, hence carrying a legal interest on the subject of the removal of the Court's Chief Justice "especially where it is underhandedly done through means other than what is provided by the Constitution such as this Quo Warranto Petition."

Their objection to the unconstitutional use of public monies and resources for the purpose of attacking the highest office in the Judicial Branch and depriving its holder of due process, and interest in the enforcement and observance of constitutional limitations on the political branches of the Government are all “made of a public right," they said, citing jurisprudence.

Like Sereno herself, the Makabayan bloc maintained that impeachment is the only allowable way to remove an impeachable official, such as the top magistrate. They also said the issue of the top judge's statements of assets and liabilities "does not affect her qualifications" as chief justice.

The quo warranto petition "intentionally derails the ongoing impeachment process in Congress, and it attempts to wrest the constitutional power away from Congress and the Filipino people," they said in their motion for opposition-in-intervention.

The lawmakers argued that the quo warranto case deprives them of their right on choosing to either affirm or override the resolution of the House justice committee—which carries six articles of impeachment—once it reaches the House plenary.

The other intervenors, as taxpayers and citizens, are also deprived of their participation in the impeachment process, they said.

Calida's quo warranto plea wants the SC to remove Sereno from office for allegedly flunking the test of "integrity" for failing to submit complete SALNs when she was applying for chief justice in 2012.

Translating to "by what warrant" or "by what authority," quo warranto is a legal proceeding that challenges a person's right to hold a public office.

Sereno, in her required comment to the petition, sought the plea's dismissal for lack of jurisdiction and merit. Calida has been ordered by the Court to reply to Sereno's pleading. —KG, GMA News