The removal from office of Maria Lourdes Sereno as chief justice of the Supreme Court this year is not karma for the ouster of Renato Corona in 2012, according to former President Benigno Aquino III.
“Did CJ Sereno do something wrong as far as CJ Corona is concerned?” Aquino said at a press conference on Monday. “If it were karma, CJ Sereno should have done something wrong to Corona – that’s why bad karma returned to her. But what has Sereno done to Corona? Isn’t that story incomplete?”
The former President said the case of Sereno was different from Corona.
“In Corona’s case, the discoveries came from himself. It was admission – as opposed to someone else bringing it up,” Aquino said.
He also noted that Corona went through the process of impeachment, unlike Sereno who was forced out of office via the quo warranto petition.
“Here in Sereno–s case, I can’t understand if there’s really a process because if you look at it, impeachment is the sole process in the Constitution to remove impeachable officials. But here comes the Supreme Court,” he said.
Corona was impeached in 2012. Aquino, who was President at that time supported the move.
The late chief justice believed that he was ousted because of his pro-farmer stand on the Hacienda Luisita case.
Hacienda Luisita is a vast sugar plantation owned by the Aquino family. /atm