Graft case vs. Sereno ‘pathetic’, spokesperson says

The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Tuesday dismissed as "another pathetic act of detractors" the graft complaint filed against before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with her appointment to the post in August 2012.

Filed by suspended lawyer Eligio Mallari and Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption legal counsel Manuelito Luna on Monday, the complaint, which also named former President Benigno Aquino III as a respondent, scored Sereno's failure to comply with the asset statement requirement when she applied for the position.

"The graft complaint... is another pathetic act by the detractors of Chief Justice Sereno to remove her from office or to force her to resign by all means regardless of what the law and the Constitution say," said lawyer Josa Deinla, one of Sereno's spokespersons.

"We view this stunt as another abuse of court process, multiplicity of actions and forum shopping to again harass, bully and humiliate the Chief Justice because they know that the impeachment case against her is fatally defective and is bound to fail," she added.

Deinla reminded Mallari and Luna that Sereno was immune from suit and could only be removed from office through impeachment.

Sereno's camp also wondered why the complaint did not include the members of the JBC, who endorsed Sereno as one of the candidates for the post, at the time.

The JBC was then headed by SC Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta who recently told the House justice committee evaluating the impeachment complaint against Sereno that had he known the issue surrounding Sereno’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), he would have objected to her inclusion in the shortlist of nominees submitted to Aquino.

"We reiterate that Chief Justice Sereno will not resign and succumb to this kind of pressure. She is confident that the truth is on her side," Deinla said. —NB, GMA News