‘Resignation for CJ never an option’

MANILA, Philippines — Resignation is never an option for Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as she parries threats of impeachment as well as Malacañang’s call for her to quit, her spokesman said yesterday.

“The Chief Justice needs to face the impeachment proceeding precisely to preserve the dignity and independence of both the Supreme Court and the Office of the Chief Justice,” her spokesman Carlo Cruz said in a statement in response to the resignation call made by presidential spokesman Harry Roque.

“She has done nothing to damage the institution, and she has been doing everything to strengthen it,” Cruz added.

Sereno, in a speech yesterday before the 8th International Conference on the Training of the Judiciary (IOJT) in Taguig City, called on the judiciary to fight for its independence, citing the “resurgence of political forces threatening and harassing the independence of the judiciary.”

“We note that in troubled times in the past, kings would demand that courts would pronounce their acts as legal, not because kings did not have the physical force to impose their will, but rather, that kings wanted their acts to have the force of moral legitimacy, a legitimacy that many times was perceived to come from courts of law,” she pointed out.

Sereno said it is important to strengthen the judiciary so it would be able to discharge its mandate in the face of threats to its independence.

“The delicate balance required to properly evaluate conflicting positions and competing interests can only be sustained by a wise and mature judiciary that is unafraid to face the challenges of increasingly changing landscapes,” she stressed.

The SC chief also again pointed out the importance of the judiciary’s task of upholding the rule of law.

“The judiciary must never forget the value of each human being while never forgetting that the community has interests that must be protected by reasonable restraints on the activities of individuals,” she stressed.

“Thus, as we here remain pro-active proponents of the advancement of the quality of judicial education, we likewise must remain mindful that we are doing so in order to have a direct impact on the protection of the life, liberty and security of ordinary people,” she said.

Also yesterday, Sereno’s camp again denied the allegations in the impeachment case against her filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon.

In a forum at the Manila Hotel, her lawyer Josa Deinla reiterated that the Chief Justice has never committed any act of betrayal of public trust or culpable violation of the Constitution as insinuated by Gadon in his complaint. The House of Representatives has deemed Gadon’s complaint sufficient in form and substance.

In the impeachment case, Sereno was alleged to have misdeclared her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) by supposedly hiding her P30-million earning as government counsel in an arbitration case against the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco), builder of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

“There is no anomaly in her SALNs. It is unreasonable for anyone to expect her earnings from the Piatco case to be intact,” Deinla argued.

“She paid all the taxes and obligations. When it was recomputed, there was even an overpayment on her part,” the lawyer stressed.

Gadon’s complaint also cited her supposed extravagant spending of judicial funds by purchasing a P5-million Toyota Land Cruiser and traveling on first-class flights and hotels.

But Deinla explained that Sereno is not extravagant and has been actually living a modest lifestyle.

“There is definitely nothing wrong with the purchase of the vehicle. It was for security purpose and not for luxury. It was also approved by the full court as part of the SC’s regular procurement,” she pointed out.   

Deinla reiterated Sereno would not attend the hearing of the House committee justice on Nov. 20 on the impeachment case against her. In the hearing, committee members would try to determine probable cause in the charges against Sereno.

Just as in the Sereno camp’s previous statement, Deinla invoked the Chief Justice’s constitutional right to be defended by her lawyers as an accused in the impeachment case.

Meanwhile, Gadon slammed the camp of Sereno for creating “bogus” groups to drum up support for her position after failing to get support from judges and court employees.

“This group Pinoy Aksyon for Governance and Environment (PAGE) – just like FATE (Filipino Alliance   for Transparency and Empowerment) – is another bogus group that operates out of nowhere as paid propaganda machinery of the Sereno camp as they cannot come up with valid defense,” Gadon said in a statement.

“From where did this incognito group come from that it just sprouted all of a sudden espousing an advocacy that is an obvious desperate attempt to advance the weak defense of Sereno camp?”  

The lawyer said it was “grossly unfair” for the group to accuse Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, House majority leader Rodolfo Fariñas and justice committee chair Reynaldo Umali as the real brains behind the impeachment complaint filed by Gadon.