Sereno's daughter: Mother ‘stood by what is right’

The daughter of ousted chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said she learned a great deal from her mother, but one thing always stands out: Knowing what was right.

Sereno's appointment was nullified by a quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida, which was approved in a monumental 8-6 vote among her peers at the Supreme Court.

In a heartfelt message on Saturday, Mia Sereno said she is proud of her mom and shared a piece of her wisdom.

Her Facebook post read: "A few times, when worry got the best of me, she has said: 'We have to do this, Mia. We have to do what is right. And, of course, that's true."

"It's paying the consequences that is often difficult, painful. Costly. I've seen it, again and again, in my mother's life. She's paid the cost every single time, her eyes bright, her heart light. She is happy to bear her consquences. She knows that it's fine. She has done the right thing. And that is all that matters," she added.

Mia also shared how her courageous mother handled the pressure that came with having government officials reporting to President Rodrigo Duterte work against her.

"When my mother was asked if there were any attempts to get her to discuss her differences with the President, this is what she said:...It's very important to me that I can look every judge in the eye and tell them 'stand.'"

"No matter which powerful person calls you, stand by what you believe is right. And do not ever allow yourself to be cowed.' If I had entered these discussions, if I had compromised, I would have lost that ability...I have not compromised, I have stood by what is right," she added.

"An ocean away, I read my mother's words and continued to learn from her," Mia said.

As her fate at the SC and as a lawyer hangs into balance, Mia shared how the country's first woman chief justice and a celebrated law professor was like as a mom.

Mia said her mother could not help but pass on the importance of the Constitution to her children.

Apparently, the top magistrate had discussed also at the dinner table.

Apart from political science, Mia said she learned ethics, philosophy, and the value of the arts from her mother.

"It was always very clear with my mother what came first. What was most important. You needed a wide range of knowledge, to be sure; you needed a richly varied skill-set, rooted in literature and art and history and philosophy and science. But above all you needed to know what was right," Mia said. —Margaret Claire Layug/ALG, GMA News