Impeach proceedings vs. Sereno to proceed despite quo warranto petition, Alvarez says

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Tuesday said the quo warranto petition challenging the validity of the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to her position is a proper course of action and would not derail the ongoing impeachment proceedings against the chief magistrate.

In an ambush interview, Alvarez said the impeachment proceeding and the quo warranto petition are two separate courses of action that can go independently.

"Kasi dalawang courses of action di ba? Yung impeachment exclusive yun sa Congress but it presupposes a valid appointment. Ngayon yung quo warranto kinukwestyon yung appointment itself, yung validity," he said.

“Tuloy pa rin yun [impeachment proceedings] kasi magkahiwalay yun. Kami naman i-aassume namin na valid yung appointment niya,” Alvarez said.

Solicitor General Jose Calida on Monday filed with the Supreme Court a petition for quo warranto, challenging Sereno's appointment due to her alleged failure to submit all of her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) during her application for the post.

This, he said, violates the eligibility requirement of integrity for the position of Chief Justice.

But AKO Bicol party-list Representative Rodel Batocabe argued that only the Constitution can state the qualifications for the Chief Justice position, which include being a natural-born Filipino, 40 years old by the time of appointment, and 15 years of legal practice.

The requirement of submission of SALN is not part of this.

Batocabe added that no one can add or delete qualifications already stated in the Constitution.

But Alvarez dismissed this contention, saying that all government employees are required by the Constitution to file SALN.

"Yung SALN kasi nasa Constitution yun. Lahat ng government employees kinakailangang mag-submit ng SALN, nasa Constitution yan. Kaya pag hindi ka nag-submit ng SALN hindi lang administrative kundi baka may criminal liability pa yan,” he said.

Alvarez likewise dismissed the call for the seven Supreme Court associate justices who reportedly "unconstitutionally" attempted to remove Sereno from her post to recuse themselves from deciding on the quo warranto petition.

“Mauubos yung justices. Hindi naman siguro, hindi naman dapat. Bakit naman sila mag-i-inhibit  trabaho nila yun? Wala namang personal interest yun na involved,” he said.

Sereno, however, maintained that she will not resign, and even challenged her detractors to bring the case already to the Senate.

"I ask only one thing from the political leaders, only one thing: Give me my day in the Senate impeachment court or admit that there is no probable cause," Sereno said in an event at the University of Baguio last Friday.

"If they were so sure of their evidence even to the point of perjuring themselves with baseless accusations that they can prove that I committed a harvest of sins against the people, why not bring it to the Senate?" she added.

The House Committee o Justice will vote on the probable cause on the impeachment complaint against Sereno on Thursday. — RSJ, GMA News