Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Thursday warned that no one may be safe in the country once the “evil machinators” of the impeachment complaint against her succeed.
Sereno made the remark during her speech before the “Women vs Strongman: Filipinas Resisting” forum at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman.
“The stakes for the rule of law, if the evil machinators of impeachment or the resignation scheme succeed, is that no one, not one man, especially not one woman, will be safe in this country,” the Chief Justice warned.
“Everyone will have to look for a political patron to save herself from incessant harassment, threats and bullying,” she lamented.
Even more, Sereno said that the 1987 Constitution, in its present form, “will be torn into shreds, and with it, every right that the Bill of Rights seeks to protect.”
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno during the Women vs Strongman forum at UP Diliman. Photo by Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net
“The right to presumption of innocence, the right of privacy, the right against unlawful searches and seizures, the right against deprivation of property without due process of law, and yes, the very right to life itself,” Sereno said.
“It opens all kinds of interpretation, which can only hasten the death of democracy in the country,” she stressed.
That was why her key message, Sereno said, was to urge women to lead “the call to reason in an increasingly chaotic, noisy and confused world.”
She noted that she herself had been making a call to reason since the impeachment complaint was filed by lawyer Larry Gadon, who was hurling an “unceasing attack against my person and my office.”
Sereno said that “this kind of malevolent and concerted attack against the values we hold dearest in our hearts—freedom, compassion for our fellowmen, peace, kindness, justice, truth, righteousness, acknowledgement of God, and yes, our love for our neighbors—is enabled by noise and confusion.”
“We cannot get distracted. Our energies cannot be dissipated. We know the real picture and understand what is at stake: Fight for democracy. Fight for rule of law. Fight for judicial independence,” Sereno said.