We are all victims, says ousted CJ

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno meets her supporters along Taft Avenue in Manila after the Supreme court voted 8-6 , granting the quo warranto petition filed by Sol Gen Jose Calida. INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

Despite her expulsion from the Supreme Court in an unprecedented vote on Friday by the justices to unseat one of their own, ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno remained unbowed and pledged to fight against violations of the rule of law that she said had victimized all Filipinos.

“This is not the first time that our laws and institutions have been violated. This is not the first time that our rights have been ignored,” a defiant Sereno said in a speech to about 2,000 supporters who braved the noonday heat outside the Supreme Court building in Manila.

“This day is about those in power, who act like they are immune from the rule of law, and where all of us are victims,” she said.

She denounced six of the eight magistrates who voted in favor of a petition to remove her when, she said, they should have inhibited from participating in the deliberations because of their alleged bias against her.

She was referring to Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Lucas Bersamin, Samuel Martires, Diosdado Peralta, Noel Tijam and Francis Jardeleza.

She said Tijam, who wrote the decision ousting her, and the others “have taken what is rightfully solely the Senate’s mandate” to try an impeachable official and “violated their sworn duty to protect the Constitution and destroyed the judiciary.”

“Now we must remain vigilant amid a period of darkness,” she said. “We must continue to fight for democracy and reason.”

She called on Filipinos to set aside their differences as “there is a larger and stronger enemy that we all must face soon.”

“Today isn’t the end but rather the beginning … From this day on, we must muster our courage and let our voices be heard. We can no longer afford to remain silent, as apathy is but equal to being complicit to their abuse,” she added.

Victory amid defeat

The ousted magistrate claimed victory amid defeat “because you have shown that you are on the side of truth against power.”

“As long as we stand for what is right, we can never lose,” she told the cheering crowd.

Her supporters from the Coalition for Justice (CFJ), who wore white shirts and purple shawls, lamented what they called “a sad, infuriating day for democracy.”

“We had prayed despite all odds that [the Supreme Court justices] would in the end rule against an unconstitutional, illegal [maneuver],” said Caloy Diño, CFJ lead convener. “It’s a truly sad day for democracy that they chose to violate their own mandate to defend the Constitution and essentially killed judicial independence.”

“[President Duterte] has already taken hold of the legislative branch, leaving the SC (Supreme Court) as the last bastion of independence,” said activist-priest Robert Reyes. “It is clear that what is happening here is not the rule of law but the rule of political accommodation.”

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the House of Representatives could no longer impeach Sereno after she was removed through the quo warranto petition, which meant she had no valid appointment.

“Impeachment presupposes a valid appointment,” he said in a television interview.

House majority floor leader Rodolfo Fariñas said “out of respect to a coequal department that has ruled that it has jurisdiction over the matter of the legality of Sereno’s appointment,” the House should wait for the resolution of any motion for reconsideration from Sereno.

“The sole purpose of impeachment proceeding is the removal of an officer from office. If such officer is no longer holding that office, the impeachment proceeding obviously becomes moot and academic,” Fariñas said in a statement.

In radio and television interviews, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, House justice committee chair, also said he believed that the impeachment case would have to be mooted.

“I feel so relieved we need not probably undergo the tedious and protracted trial in the Senate,” Umali said, adding that he was happy the committee’s hearings were able to contribute to quo warranto suit.