Sereno asks SC to nullify OSG’s quo warranto petition

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Monday asked the Supreme Court to nullify the petition for quo warranto filed by the Office of the Solicitor General which seeks to remove her from the post sans an impeachment trial due to questions on her appointment in 2012.

In a 77-page comment, the Chief Justice, through her lawyers led by Atty. Alexander Poblador sought the dismissal of the petition for lack of jurisdiction and merit.

Sereno maintained that the High Court has no authority to remove her from office via quo warranto because 1987 Constitution specifically mentioned the officials that can only be removed by impeachment.

Section 2, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution provides that impeachable officials, which include all members of the SC, may only be removed from office upon impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court. The SC itself has consistently applied this provision as a limitation on its power to remove public officers.

Sereno said the High Court “cannot take cognizance of or give due course to the [OSG petition] without running afoul of the plain dictates of the fundamental law and established judicial precedents.”

The Chief Justice added that she should also be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations against her through the impeachment trial.

“The Chief Justice deserves her day in court before the Senate sitting as an Impeachment Tribunal,” read the comment.

“To rule otherwise, and to preempt the impeachment process by summarily ousting the Chief Justice via quo warranto, would be tantamount to overthrowing the Constitution itself,” she added.

Sereno also said the quo warranto petition should not be entertained at all for being “time-barred.”

Under Section 11, Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, a petition for quo warranto must be filed within one year from the “cause of ouster.”

“There is no authority to commence a quo warranto proceeding more than four years after the expiration of the one-year statute of limitations,” she said.

Sereno was appointed Chief Justice in 2012 or six years before the quo warranto petition was filed.     /muf