Sereno camp slammed for ‘untruth’ over leave brouhaha

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Gwendolyn Garcia has urged Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and her spokespersons to “face up to the truth,” after misleadingly claiming that she would only be taking a 15-day “wellness leave” before admitting that her break would be indefinite.

It may be recalled that Garcia on Tuesday requested the justice committee to issue a show-cause order against spokesperson Jojo Lacanilao for telling reporters that morning that Sereno would only be on wellness leave. The order for the lawyer to explain why he should not be cited in contempt was granted in the afternoon.

“Atty. Lacanilao’s statement is another untruth compounding their web of lies and deception that have brought them and the Supreme Court to its present state today,” Garcia said, when asked for comment after the Sereno camp walked back its earlier remarks.

Meanwhile, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption lawyer Manuelito Luna said Sereno’s spokespersons “had clearly misled the public through their pronouncements, which are in the nature of fake news.”

Luna supported the issuance of the show-cause order against Lacanilao “as their actions tended to undermine the authority of the SC en banc.”

The VACC filed a second impeachment complaint against Sereno last September, but only the complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon was found sufficient in form and substance.