Solicitor General Jose Calida. Presidential Photo
Solicitor General Jose Calida dared Chief Justice-on leave Maria Lourdes Sereno to trust her fellow justices, rather than politicians, to decide whether to step down.
“If indeed Sereno is the champion of judicial independence, why doesn’t she trust her peers to judge the quo warranto case filed against her?” Calida said on Saturday through his social media account.
“Instead, Sereno insists that politicians in the Senate should try and judge her,” he added.
Calida made the comments without answering Sereno’s query about who pushed the solicitor general into filing the quo warranto case.
“Why is she afraid of the judiciary? Does she believe that the senators are more adept than the Supreme Court justices in resolving constitutional and legal issues?” Calida said in his Twitter account.
He accused Sereno of contradicting herself. “How can the judiciary be independent when its ‘chief justice’ relies on the legislature to decide her case? Isn’t that brazen hypocrisy?”
The House committee on justice found probable cause to recommend the impeachment of Sereno and her trial by the Senate.
Sereno was accused of failing to submit a complete set of statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, disregarding the collegial nature of the court and errors in declaring her real income.