Headlines

Sereno: SALN requirement relaxed for other chief justice applicants

March 19, 2018 | 6:30pm

Sereno: SALN requirement relaxed for other chief justice applicants

Supreme Court Associate Justice Noel Tijam is greeted by colleague Teresita de Castro as fellow Justices Arturo Brion (center) and Francis Jardeleza look on prior to their testimony at the House of Representatives yesterday for the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

De Castro and Brion also applied for the chief justice position in 2012. Michael Varcas

MANILA, Philippines — The requirement to file all Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth was waived for all other chief justice applicants, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno told the Supreme Court on Monday.

In a statement, Sereno said: "The submission of all SALNs for those in government was a requirement which the JBC can waive and it waived not only for Sereno but also for 13 other applicants who had failed to submit their complete SALNs to the [Judicial and Bar Council]."

The statement was released for Sereno's filing of comment on Solicitor General Jose Calida's petition seeking the nullification of her appointment as chief justice in 2012.

READ: Calida questions Sereno's appointment as chief justice before SC

Calida's petition for quo warranto is grounded on Sereno's failure to "meet integrity" standards when she only filed three SALNs in 2012.

But Sereno reminded the court that the requirement was waived for all applicants that year including Associate Justices Roberto Abad, Arturo Brion, Teresita De Castro, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Deans Raul Pangalangan and Amado Valdez, and Rep. Ronaldo Zamora (San Juan City).

Except for the two deans, the rest were included in the shortlist of candidates submitted to President Benigno Aquino III.

READ: Sereno asks SC to junk quo warranto plea for lack of merit

She added: "There is no authority for the judicial review of a purely political question, as the OSG cannot substitute its judgment for the discretion of the JBC to include a name in the shortlist for the position of CJ, and certainly, the OSG cannot overturn the then-President's decision to appoint her to that position."

During the February 12 hearing of the House of Representatives justice panel, De Castro 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]."

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

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]."

The JBC, then represented by its executive officer Annaliza Capacite, told the justice panel 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.

Sereno is currently on leave from her office. She said that this is in preparation for her looming impeachment trial at the Senate.