SC to start oral arguments on petition vs. Sereno on April 10

The Supreme Court (SC) will start on April 10 the oral arguments on Solicitor General Jose Calida's quo warranto petition challenging the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to the position.

The high court, during Tuesday's en banc session in Baguio City, also instructed Sereno to personally answer questions on the petition, according to SC Public Information Office chief Theodore Te.

The oral arguments will be held at the Supreme Court Session Hall in Baguio City at 2 p.m.

En Banc Actions, April 3, 2018 | GR 237428, the SC directs oral argument on Quo Warranto petition against the CJ on April 10, 2 PM in Baguio City: the CJ instructed to appear personally to answer questions from the SC En Banc. Interventions denied except IBP intervention noted.

— Supreme Court PIO (@SCPh_PIO) April 3, 2018

This decision comes as Sereno's colleagues granted her motion to set for oral argument on the Calida's petition, which seeks her ouster over her alleged incomplete submission of her declarations of wealth when she was gunning for the top judge post in 2012.

According to Calida, this showed that Sereno had flunked the test of integrity, to which the embattled chief justice countered that only the Judicial and Bar Council can determine who meets the said requirement.

Te further said the motions for intervention filed by two groups objecting to Calida's pleading have been denied, while the one filed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has been noted.

Like Sereno herself, left-leaning lawmakers and a former senator have sought the dismissal of the quo warranto plea as they insisted that impeachment is the only way allowed by the Constitution to oust an impeachable official.

Another group, led by activist priest Robert Reyes, sought the same relief from the Court. The following day, the IBP Board of Governors formally questioned Calida's "fatally flawed" pleading as well.

Meanwhile, Calida said Sereno, not any intervenor or oppositor, is the best person to face his challenge.

"Allowing intervenors to participate cannot possibly result in a more expeditious resolution of the issue," Calida said on his official Twitter page.

"Besides, there is no better party to address the petition head-on than Sereno herself. Any other litigant will only unnecessarily add more issues to be resolved by the Supreme Court," he added.

There's no better party to address the petition head-on than Sereno herself. pic.twitter.com/JVsjNkCdwq

— SolGen Jose C Calida (@SolGenCalida) April 3, 2018

Sereno is also facing possible impeachment by the House of Representatives and a trial in the Senate over accusations that she violated court policies and did not completely disclose her wealth, among others.

SC justices are currently in Baguio City for their annual summer session. — KBK/RSJ, GMA News