Robredo backs Sereno: Ouster case a ‘weapon of intimidation, to kill dissent’

Vice President Leni Robredo has expressed her support for Chief Justice on-leave Maria Lourdes Sereno, who is fighting off a quo warranto petition filed against her by Solicitor General Jose Calida before the Supreme Court (SC).

In a forum called “Free the Courts! A Forum on the Philippine Justice System” at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Robredo said that should the quo warranto case against Sereno succeeds, it would be “the final blow to the ideal of justice we all depend on.”

“It tramples our Constitution, as well as coopts one of its foundations. It weaponizes the courts and if we allow it, a quo warranto can be used as a weapon of intimidation, to kill dissent,” Robredo noted.

“The quo warranto case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, should it succeed, can be the final blow to the ideal of justice we all depend on,” she also said.

Likewise, Robredo urged the public not to stay silent and speak out in defense of judicial independence.

The vice president also vowed to uphold the rule of law amid “threats against the country’s democratic institutions.”

“As your duly-elected Vice President, I took an oath to defend the Constitution. You can count on me to do everything in my power to right this wrong, should it ever come to pass,” Robredo said.

“Our nation’s path towards democracy has been fraught with dark twists and unexpectedly glorious turns, but our people (have) proven time and again that we will always take democracy’s side. And this is why we will not go quiet into the night. We will always fight for what is right,” she stressed.       /kga