Ombudsman summoned over Sereno’s missing SALNs

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has issued a summons for the Office of the Ombudsman to “produce” the missing statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno when she was still a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law.

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the House committee on justice taking up the impeachment complaint against the chief magistrate, directed the committee secretariat to issue the subpoena following UP - Human Resource Department Office (HRDO) chairperson Angela Escoto’s testimony last week that the “only copy” they retrieved from Sereno’s 201 File was her SALN for 2002.

No one among the lawmakers asked, and the UP custodians did not say how much was declared in the 2002 SALN.

Sereno was a law professor in the country’s premier state university prior to her appointment to the judiciary in August 2010 by then president Benigno Aquino III. He promoted her to chief justice two years later, bypassing all of her 14 other colleagues and breaking the judicial hierarchy.

Escoto and her deputy, Rosemarie Fabiona, head of the UP records section, told members of the Umali committee that Sereno, who taught law from 2001 to 2009, could have directly submitted her SALNs to the ombudsman.

Both Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales are appointees of Aquino. Morales, a retired SC justice, took over Merceditas Gutierrez, who resigned in August 2011 rather than face a Senate impeachment trial.

Neither Sereno, who has been attending forums recently, nor her camp comprised of numerous lawyers have explained the disappearance of eight of her nine SALNs in UP Law, from where she also graduated.

Escoto admitted to lawmakers that she could not recall any instance where UP professors have failed to file and submit their SALNs, which they turn over to the ombudsman every year.

“Not that I know of your honor,” Escoto, who has headed the UP-HRDO for the past 10 years, told House Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia, adding that she could not remember if there were sanctions for non-submissions as there never was a time that SALNs were not filed.

The hearing set by Umali on Sereno’s impeachment case will resume tomorrow.

So far, Manila Times senior reporter Jomar Canlas, SC Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Court Administrator Midas Marquez have been invited and testified before the impeachment committee.

Aside from De Castro, her colleagues Noel Tijam, Francis Jardeleza, retired justice Arturo Brion, SC spokesman Theodore Te and clerks of court Felipa Anama, Enriqueta Vidal and Charlotte Labayano, among others, were also invited.

The House has also issued a subpoena to Sandiganbayan Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, a former Cebu City judge who was appointed by Aquino to the anti-graft court in March 2016, to shed light on facts surrounding a controversial order of Sereno regarding her being designated as the head, and apparently the one-man team of what De Castro believed was a Judiciary Decentralized Office in Region 7.

De Castro said Sereno made it appear she was reviving the court-sanctioned Regional Court Administration Office, but that she found out the latter created a new and redundant office, in effect usurping Congress’ legislative power to create offices.

‘Monumental f**kup’

Meanwhile, a member of the House independent opposition bloc whose members call themselves the Magnificent 7 observed that the way the impeachment hearings have been going, the end-result would be nothing but a “monumental f**kup.”

“I believe that this charade is heading nowhere but to a monumental f**kup that the House should immediately dismiss so we can tackle other important business like the (Bangsamoro Basic Law) and other priority legislation,” Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin said.

Akbayan is a key political ally of the once-powerful Liberal Party, which belonged to the administration coalition of Aquino. Its stalwarts are former Commission on Human Rights chief Etta Rosales, now Sen. Risa Hontiveros and former political adviser Ronald Llamas.

“Otherwise the public will have a bland Yuletide entertainment from the House,” Villarin said.

“Opinions, hearsay, rants and innuendos don’t add to anything substantive that would give probable cause for (a) trial to proceed. If ever, dissent and disagreements within the SC are normal and resolved internally,” he said of De Castro’s testimony.

“De Castro herself can’t categorically say such acts of Sereno are impeachable. She has angsts against Sereno since the latter was appointed chief justice and not her. She has made it her crusade to vilify Sereno inside and outside the Court,” Villarin added.

“She’s telling things to the public that are misleading and only her opinions, not backed by SC administrative rules nor show violations thereof. Her disposition shows bias and emotion-laden statements. She clearly has an axe to grind against her primus inter pares (first among equals) in the SC,” the lawyer-congressman further explained.