The attempts to unseat Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno have spilled over to the lower courts, dragging judges into the political controversy, three court sources said on Sunday.
The first source said the 1,200-strong Philippine Judges Association (PJA), composed of Regional Trial Court (RTC) judges, would issue a “manifesto” calling for Sereno’s resignation during the flag-raising ceremony at the Supreme Court on Monday.
The source said court employees, together with several justices who had forced Sereno to go on an indefinite leave starting March 1, were expected to wear red shirts and ribbons to symbolize their support for her ouster as Chief Justice, as they did last Monday.
The court insiders requested that their identities be withheld due to the sensitivity of the issue.
“The court employees were told to wear something red if they are for the protection of the institution and not just of one person,” the first source said.
Sereno was apparently aware of this move, as she assailed those who were supposedly instigating court workers to issue a joint statement against her.
Judicial independence
“This is the opposite of my policy that judges and court personnel should not be involved in politics because that would ruin judicial independence,” the Chief Justice said in a television interview on Saturday.
“Judicial independence means that you should not pass judgment until you have seen all the evidence,” she said. “But I’m being asked to resign even before the evidence against me [can] be presented.”
According to a second source, the PJA and its national officers would not issue a statement against Sereno on their own.
Rather, the group would just support a joint statement signed by the Supreme Court Employees Association (SCEA), the Supreme Court Assembly of Lawyer Employees (SCALE) and the Philippine Association of Court Employees (PACE).
The source said the officers of SCEA and SCALE had initiated the drafting of a joint statement calling for Sereno’s resignation.
“The PJA is just one of the signatories of the joint manifesto. The officers put it to a vote and that was the decision of the group, to sign the joint manifesto,” the source said.
Preserve the institution
“The judges just want to preserve the institution,” the source added. “They know what the effect of the impeachment trial on the judiciary would be. They saw it happen during the impeachment of (the late) Chief Justice Renato Corona.”
Several RTC judges, however, were questioning the decision of the PJA, which is led by Judge Felix Reyes as president, to make a stand on the controversy without consulting its members.
A number of PJA members also shared a Facebook post reminding judges to protect the judiciary from political interference.
“I stand for judicial independence. I swore to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. I am committed to abide by the canons of judicial office and the impartiality and independence of the judiciary,” read a portion of the Facebook post.
“In light of the challenges facing the institution, I stand steadfast to my oath and commitments, as it matters not who sits on the bench, but to make sure that the wheels of justice continue to roll,” it added.
In her Facebook account, Judge Leilani Grimares, president of the Metropolitan and City Judges Association of the Philippines, posted a photo with the caption, “I stand for judicial independence.”
A third source said RTC judges in Quezon City and Marikina City had decided to wear purple “to signify their unequivocal support for the judiciary’s independence.”
Forced to choose color
“Unfortunately, some political personalities and court officials with ulterior motives forced the court employees to choose their own color,” the source said. “This is not good for the institution and the country.”
The justice committee of the House of Representatives last week found probable cause to impeach Sereno for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
She is accused of, among other offenses, filing untruthful or incomplete financial statements, evading P2 million in income tax, violating the Supreme Court’s collegiality rule and buying a car with P5 million in taxpayer money for her personal use.
Articles of impeachment
A smaller group is drafting the articles of impeachment, which the justice committee will put to a vote then, if approved, send to the floor for a vote by the plenary.
Sereno, who denies the accusations, has challenged the House to send the case to the Senate fast for trial, where she expects to be exonerated.
Besides the impeachment complaint, Sereno is also facing a challenge to her appointment as Chief Justice brought to the Supreme Court by President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief lawyer, Solicitor General Jose Calida.
Sereno has called the quo warranto petition a “gimmick,” saying Mr. Duterte’s allies know the impeachment case they have against her is weak.