TIMELINE: Sereno at SC

Ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno during press conference in New World Hotel, Manila following decision of Quo Warranto. INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Aug. 13, 2010—Maria Lourdes Sereno is appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Aug. 24, 2012—Sereno becomes the country’s 24th Chief Justice—and the first female to hold the position—succeeding Renato Corona who was impeached three months earlier. At 52, she was then the second youngest to be appointed Chief Justice.

2016

Aug. 7—President Duterte accuses seven lower court judges of cavorting with drug lords.

Aug. 8—Sereno writes to Mr. Duterte to assert the judiciary’s authority over judges allegedly involved in illegal drugs.

Aug. 9—Sereno’s order to judges in Mr. Duterte’s “narcolist” not to yield to authorities without a warrant against them angers the President. He raises the possibility of declaring martial law in case of a conflict between the executive and the judiciary.

Nov. 8—Sereno votes with the minority against allowing dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani, one of the President’s campaign promises. She said Mr. Duterte acted with grave abuse of discretion because his order to bury Marcos at Libingan violated the country’s obligations to do justice to human rights victims.

2017

Jan. 28—Sereno debunks Mr. Duterte’s sweeping claim that the courts have abused the issuance of temporary restraining orders (TROs) that have stalled government infrastructure projects.

July 4—Sereno votes with the minority against Mindanao-wide martial law, says it should be confined to Marawi.

Aug. 2—Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) chair Dante Jimenez and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. (VPCI) president Eligio Mallari submit the first impeachment complaint against Sereno.

Aug. 30—Lawyer Lorenzo Gadon files separate impeachment complaint in the House of Representatives, with endorsement from 25 lawmakers.

Sept. 13—The House justice committee found basis to hear the impeachment charges against Sereno, including failing to declare her real wealth, buying a luxury car with government funds and making questionable decisions without consulting her fellow magistrates. The House panel dismisses the Jimenez-Mallari complaint.

Oct. 1—Mr. Duterte challenges Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales to “resign” with him.

Nov. 6—Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque urges Sereno to “voluntarily resign” and spare the judiciary “from any further damage” even as Mr. Duterte himself wanted her removed from office “by all means.”

2018

Feb. 6—Sereno dissents on the indefinite extension of martial law in Mindanao.

Feb. 28—Sereno is forced by fellow magistrates to go on an indefinite leave.

March 5—Solicitor General Jose Calida files a quo warranto petition in the Supreme Court to seek Sereno’s ouster as Chief Justice on the grounds that she was unlawfully holding the position and that she did not prove her integrity.

March 6—Mr. Duterte denies being part of the move to unseat Sereno.

April 9—Mr. Duterte declares himself Sereno’s “enemy” and urges the House to fast-track her impeachment.

April 10—Sereno spars with some of her colleagues during the oral arguments on the quo warranto petition.

May 11—Justices hold a special session to vote on the quo warranto petition. Six magistrates whom Sereno had asked to inhibit from the deliberations were among the eight who voted to oust her. Six associate justices rejected the petition.

SOURCES: INQUIRER ARCHIVES