Sereno ouster sans impeachment will ‘certainly disrupt public service’ – group

PHOTO by TETCH TORRES-TUPAS / INQUIRER.net

The use of a quo warranto proceeding to remove a public official who has been working for many years would “certainly disrupt public service,” a group of private individuals warned on Thursday.

The multi-sectoral group filed an intervention case with the Supreme Court and emphasized that “impeachment is the only possible course of action prescribed by the 1987 Constitution that can be undertaken to unseat an impeachable officer like the Chief Justice.”

Specifically, the group, led by running priest Father Robert Reyes, cited Section 2 of Article 11 of the Constitution to assert that the Chief Justice is among government officials who can only be removed thru impeachment.

The same provision under the Constitution also said the following public officials can only be unseated via impeachment: the President, Vice-President, Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman, the group added.

According to the petitioners, the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is valid considering the process that she went through – from being screened and shortlisted by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) up to being appointed by the President of the country.

They pointed out that charges hurled against the top magistrate could very well be addressed during an impeachment trial.

“Any other charges, such as the incomplete submission of Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or SALN and her psychological tests can be best explained in the course of a full-blown impeachment trial now at the doorsteps of the Senate,” the group said.

The group also challenged the quo warranto case filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida against Sereno at the high court. The petitioners asserted that under the Rules of Court, a quo warranto acse can only be initiated within one year from the time the public officer has assumed office.

“The one-year period is designed to provide some stability in the discharge of public duties and the Chief Justice has been with the high court for more than four years. The use of quo warranto to unseat a public officer who has been functioning for a long time would certainly disrupt public service,” the group said.

Aside from Fr. Reyes, petitioners in the intervention case include farmer-leader Noland Penas; Mel Alonzo, former chief executive officer of the Pag Ibig Fund; Rey Anne Librado, a masteral student at the University of the Philippines; Alice Gentolia Murphy, urban poor advocate; and Mardi Suplido, a peace and human rights advocates. They are represented by Atty. Ibarra Gutierrez, former Akbayan Representative. /kga