Quo warranto cannot be filed a year after the ouster cause – ex-justice

A former associate justice of the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday warned that allowing a quo warranto action against an official to prosper, even if it was initiated over a year after the alleged cause of ouster, would subvert the independence of the judiciary.

“A quo warranto proceeding filed against a member of the court or any impeachable officer, for that matter, filed more than a year after assumption of office, will undermine the security of tenure guaranteed by the Constitution to public officers who are simply removable by impeachment and ultimately subvert the independence of the judiciary," former SC justice Vicente Mendoza told a local cable news channel.

Mendoza also pointed out that such quo warranto actions violated Rule 66, Section 11 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, which, in part, reads: "Nothing contained in this Rule shall be construed to authorize an action against a public officer or employee for his ouster from office unless the same be commenced within one (1) year after the cause of such ouster..."

The SC justices were aware of this rule, Mendoza emphasized, "having promulgated these rules themselves."

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno faced a petition for quo warranto, brought by Solicitor General Jose Calida, which challenged the validity of her appointment over her alleged failure to file all her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).

Sereno had called on the SC drop the case for lack of jurisdiction, as she could only be removed from office via impeachment.

Calida's petition would be decided on in May.

"I do not want to think that it will not follow its own rules in the very first place. In the second place, I want to think that the Court will be aware not only of the Rules of Court but also of  its prior decisions," said Mendoza.

"You cannot bring a suit for quo warrant to test the validity of the title or right of a person who is impeachable by quo warranto  --- except by impeachment," he added.

However, another former justice of the SC, Antonio Nachura, said earlier that a quo warranto proceeding could be a remedy, even against impeachable officers. — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/DVM, GMA News