Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno INQUIRER File photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno did not “intentionally delay” action on petitions for retirement and/or survivorship benefits of retirees in the Judiciary, her camp refuted on Tuesday.
The House justice panel is currently deliberating the probable cause of the impeachment case against the top magistrate.
READ: Sereno says Gadon’s rap she delayed magistrate’s benefits baseless
Lawyer Lorenzo Gadon is accusing Sereno of “delaying actions” on numerous petitions for retirement benefits of Supreme Court justices and judges and their surviving spouses, which he said is a culpable violation of the Constitution.
Sereno’s lawyers said the applications of those benefits are in the first place required to be decided by the SC as a collegial body.
“The Chief Justice is sympathetic with the plight not just of retirees in the Judiciary, but of the people, who long for an expeditious resolution of their cases,” Sereno’s camp said in a statement.
“To this end, she has even instituted measures to rationalize and expedite the very process respecting retirement benefits that Complainant assails,” they added. /jpv
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