Sereno critics say quo warranto better for her than impeachment

Quo warranto proceedings will be a better way out for Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno than an impeachment trial, according to Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption legal counsel Manuelito Luna and suspended lawyer Eligio Mallari.

A Balitanghali report by GMA News' Mav Gonzales on Wednesday quoted Luna and Mallari as saying that an impeachment was only for officials who "validly" hold their positions.

The two also urged Sereno to just voluntarily step down.

Solicitor General Jose Calida has filed a quo warranto petition challenging Sereno's appointment to the position, citing her alleged failure to submit all her sworn Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).

A quo warranto is a legal proceeding that seeks to challenge a person's right to hold a public office.  Mallari, in a letter dated February 21, 2018, had urged the Office of the Solicitor General to initiate quo warranto proceedings against Sereno.

According to the report, Mallari and Luna raised the prospect that Sereno could still be appointed to another position in government or be allowed to run for public office if she chooses to go through quo warranto proceedings, unlike an impeachment situation which may subject her for a "perpetual ban" from being a public official.

Luna, who called the quo warranto an "act of kindess," said the proceedings would hasten the process of her ouster.

The lawyers were quoted as saying that Sereno holding the top magistrate position "causes damage" to the integrity of the judiciary branch as time passes. 

Luna had represented Mallari in filing a graft complaint against Sereno, which included former President Benigno Aquino III as a respondent over the Chief Justice's appointment to the position in 2012.

The complaints were based on claims of two Supreme Court justices saying Sereno should not have been included in the list of nominees for not being able to fully comply with all the requirements for the application to the position.

The camp of Chief Justice Sereno had dismissed their complaint as "another pathetic act of detractors" to remove or force her to resign "regardless of what the law and the Constitution say."

Meanwhile, the House Committee on Justice will vote on the probable cause on the impeachment complaint on Thursday. —Margaret Claire Layug/KBK, GMA News