Sereno on silence: Reticence not cowardice

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. RAFFY LERMA/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

RETICENCE—a kind of reserve or cautiousness in speaking out—is not cowardice or weakness, Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno said during Independence Day rites at the Quezon City Hall on Sunday.

Apparently alluding to her seeming evasiveness in commenting on various controversial pronouncements made by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, Sereno said there was a proper time for the courts to join in the topics that the people have been discussing lately.

The Commission on Human Rights recently lashed out at what it perceived to be a creeping climate of fear and timidity sparked by statements made by Duterte appearing to support extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals and journalists, including veiled warnings made to the legislature and the judiciary not to get in his way.

The Chief Justice said it would be unfair to judge matters before they reached the court. “I ask for the reticence of judges, especially the Chief Justice. Reticence is not cowardice nor weakness. There is a right time to examine things,” Sereno said.

The Chief Justice did not specify what topics people were talking about. During the Supreme Court anniversary rites on Friday, however,  Sereno was pressed by reporters for comments on legal issues, such as the restoration of the death penalty and other policy pronouncements made by Duterte.

“Until that (capital punishment) is a law, it does not yet become a justiciable matter. And even if it becomes a law, of course, you already know the requirements before a justiciable matter ripens before us. Until then, we will really need to keep our peace on this and observe,” she said.

Sereno said the judiciary would continue to fulfill its role under the principle of checks and balances and its duty to interpret the Constitution.

“The judiciary is here to ensure that the constitutionally identified values of the people are upheld and so we will see in what way the objectives of the government can be met within the parameters of the Constitution—when, only when, a controversy is before us,” she said.

In her Independence Day speech, the Chief Justice spoke about what she thought was the definition of real courage.

“True courage is finishing the good deeds that were began even if it would be others who would reap the praise,” she said.

Joining the Chief Justice were acting QC Mayor Joy Belmonte and acting QC Vice Mayor Anthony Peter Crisologo.