Sereno camp sees ‘smear campaign’ in House subpoena for psychiatric report

This photo, taken Aug. 26, 2017, shows Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at a “Meet the Press” event in Intramuros, Manila. (Photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

The plan to reveal Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s psychiatric exam results before the impeachment hearing at the House of Representatives is only part of an “ongoing smear campaign,” according to Sereno’s lawyers.

House justice committee chairman Rep. Reynaldo Umali on Monday announced the two psychiatrists who reportedly gave Sereno failing marks in her psychiatric test would be invited to appear before the impeachment hearing.
Lawyer Josa Deinla, one of Sereno’s spokespersons, dismissed the invitation as a ploy to attract public attention and vilify the Chief Justice.

“The Chief Justice’s detractors are bent to demolish her to a point of including issues that are clearly not offenses that would warrant her removal from office,” Deinla said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This would appear to be part of the ongoing smear campaign against the Chief Justice,” the spokeswoman said.

READ:  House panel subpoenas Sereno’s psychiatric records, 2 doctors

Lawyer Larry Gadon, the impeachment complainant, claimed Sereno got a 4 out of 5 grade in her psychological exam. He said “an applicant to any position in the judiciary with a grade of 4 is unfit for the job.”

But Deinla stressed that even Gadon had already admitted that Sereno’s psychological test was not an impeachable ground.

In addition, Deinla said Sereno could not have served in the Supreme Court (SC) for seven years — two as Associate Justice and five as Chief Justice — if she was not psychologically fit.

“This is nothing but a mere publicity stunt with the intention to humiliate, insult, malign, ridicule and discredit the Chief Justice before the public,” Deinla said.

“Because they lack solid proof to support the fatally defective impeachment complaint filed by Atty. Gadon, they resort to publicity stunt and vicious vilification campaign,” she said.

The psychiatrists, Deinla said, were hired by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) in 2012 to administer the psychological tests of Sereno and other candidates vying to take Chief Justice Renato Corona’s place after he was convicted by the Senate impeachment court.

The JBC is a constitutional body that screens applicants to vacant posts in the judiciary, from the Chief Justice down to trial court judges.

In her verified answer to Gadon’s complaint, the Chief Justice said there was nothing in the JBC Rules that says an applicant to a position in the judiciary with a grade of 4 is unfit for the job. /je