Leftist lawmaker sees Sereno getting ousted via quo warranto case

A party-list lawmaker believes that Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's colleagues in the Supreme Court have already made up their mind to oust the country's top magistrate by ruling favorably on the quo warranto petition against her.

Chief Justice Antonio Carpio has said the high court may be able to release its decision on the quo warranto petition next month.

"By the looks of it, at saka yung mga pinakita ng mga kasamahan ni Chief Justice Sereno, luto na ang desisyon e. Malinaw naman, kumbaga elephant in the room lang yan," Anakpawis party-list Representative Ariel Casilao said at a press conference.

"Talagang gagawin ang proseso ng quo warranto to favor itong quo warranto, definitely tatanggalin si Chief Justice," he added.

The Supreme Court last week held oral arguments on the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida against Sereno to question the validity of her appointment as chief justice.

Calida said Sereno's alleged failure to submit all of her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth during her application for the post violates the eligibility requirement of integrity for the position of chief justice.

Casilao maintains that the quo warranto petition is a political strategy of the allies of President Rodrigo Duterte to remove Sereno from her post.

"Ang impact na lang nito sa pulitika, mas lalong mawawalan ng kredibilidad at guguho ang anumang pundasyon ng kredibilidad ng Korte Suprema kapag papaboran niya ang petition ng quo warranto," he added.

The House Makabayan bloc, in which Casilao is a member, has earlier filed a motion a for intervention and an opposition-in-intervention before the Supreme Court seeking to dismiss the quo warranto petition.

This motion, however, was denied by the high court. —NB, GMA News