Palace to Sereno: Blame yourself for ouster

MANILA, Philippines — Saying former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno herself should be blamed for her ouster, Malacanang yesterday accused her of grandstanding after she repeatedly called for the resignation of President Duterte.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the Palace does not want to dignify Sereno’s resign calls but her media blitz and political grandstanding should be stopped.

“We have refrained from commenting on the former chief magistrate’s call for the President to resign,” Roque said. “But she has been engaged in grandstanding and seeking media coverage, pointing an accusing finger at President Duterte over the result of the quo warranto petition filed against her.”

Instead of blaming the President for her misfortune, Roque said Sereno should respect the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) justices who favored her ouster.

Roque added Sereno has herself to blame for her removal as chief justice.

“We consider this unfortunate for the truth is, four other fingers point to her. She should closely look at the mirror to see who is behind the high court’s ruling. She herself violated the Constitution by not filing her SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth),” Roque said.

He said the former chief justice should explain to the public her indiscretion when she failed to file her SALN.

“The President has not violated the Constitution, and unlike the former chief justice, the Chief Executive enjoys high satisfaction, approval, performance and trust ratings from the Filipino people,” Roque said.

On Thursday, Sereno challenged the President to resign as he had promised to step down if it would be proven that he had a hand in her ouster.

Sereno believes that Duterte was behind her ouster through the quo warranto petition filed against her by Solicitor General Jose Calida.

Search for next CJ

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will begin its search for the next chief justice only when the SC decision on Sereno’s ouster becomes final.

Sereno was given 15 days to file her motion for reconsideration. If she is unable to file her appeal, the JBC will start accepting applications and nominations for a new chief magistrate, according to a source.

The source said the chief justice’s post would be opened only when the quo warranto decision becomes final.

SC justices voted 8-6 in favor of the quo warranto petition that questioned the validity of Sereno’s appointment as chief magistrate. 

The high court declared the chief justice post as vacant.

The JBC is chaired by acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, with Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, Sen. Richard Gordon and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali as ex-officio members.

Leila calls for Duterte to resign

Meanwhile, detained Sen. Leila de Lima called on Duterte to resign, saying he is unfit to be President.

“He should step down from office. He is clearly unfit to be President. So unfit for the highest position of the land,” De Lima told reporters after yesterday’s hearing on the drug charges filed against her before the Muntinlupa City regional trial court (RTC).

Judge Lorna Domingo Navarro of the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 206 rescheduled De Lima’s arraignment to June 22.

Navarro wanted the arraignment to be held on May 25 after the senator’s motion for reconsideration was denied.

De Lima’s camp, however, filed a motion to quash.

The defense and prosecution panels were given five days to submit their comments on the motion.

De Lima’s arraignment on a separate drug case before the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 205 under Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz was also reset to Aug. 22, pending motion on the amended charges of drug trading filed by the prosecution. 

The court also gave the prosecution and defense panels five days to comment on De Lima’s petition for furlough to attend her son’s graduation on June 3.

Former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Bucayu as well as De Lima’s former bodyguards Joenel Sanchez and Ronnie Dayan attended the hearing. – With Evelyn Macairan, Robertzon Ramirez