Magistrates say Sereno's inclusion on chief justice shortlist an 'injustice'

MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno should not have been included even on the long list of candidates for the chief justice position, two justices on Monday said.

 

During the resumption of the House of Representatives justice committee's deliberation of the impeachment rap against Sereno, Justices Teresita De Castro and Diosdado Peralta raised that the former failed to comply with the requirement to submit copies of her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth over the years.

 

But Judicial and Bar Council Executive Officer Annaliza Capacite said that a member of the council's executive committee deemed that Sereno made substantial compliance on the SALN requirement.

De Castro, facing the committee again, recounted that she was among the candidates when Sereno applied for the chief justice position.

 

Before the justice panel, she lamented: "Grave injustice was done to us candidates, specifically the candidates for chief justice. The position became vacant because of what happened to (former) Chief Justice Corona on the ground that he failed to include deposits [in his SALN]."

 

She stressed that an announcement for the vacancy and requirements was published in newspapers stating that "applicants with incomplete or out of date documentary requirements will not be included."

 

De Castro stressed: "She should have not been interviewed. She should have been excluded [from the list]."

 

Peralta, meanwhile, pointed out that when his wife applied for executive judgeship, she was immediately dropped from the list for failing to submit her clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation.

 

He contrasted this with Sereno who failed to submit SALNs for several years but was still included on the list of candidates.

Capacite, however, said that Sen. Francis Escudero, who then sat as a member of the JBC's Executive Committee, said that "an attempt to comply" on the SALN requirement would suffice.

 

She explained that during the application of Sereno and De Castro, the process was only open for 10 days. Because of this, those who applied were given additional time to file their documentary requirements.

 

"On July 20 [in 2012], when there was a report that many of the candidates cannot comply, Escudero opined that one candidate has substantially complied with requirements even though all SALNs were not submitted," Capacite recalled.

 

She added that Sereno filed three SALNs for her application.

 

The JBC executive officer also stressed that it was only in 2016 that the JBC became strict in the submission of documentary requirements.

 

Rep. Reynaldo Umali, who chairs the justice panel, said that the issue is an "oversight" but has "bearing" on the Sereno's case.

 

The House committee is deliberating whether the complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon has probable cause to oust Sereno.