SC orders Calida to comment on Sereno’s petition

The Supreme Court ordered Solicitor General Jose Calida to comment on the appeal filed by former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno seeking a reversal of the May 11 ruling that led to her ouster.

During Tuesday’s en banc, the high court gave the Office of the Solicitor General a non-extendible period of five days to submit its comment.

Voting 8-6, the SC on May 11 granted the Solicitor General’s quo warranto petition to remove Sereno from office based on a supposedly invalid appointment in 2012.

The SC ruled that Sereno’s integrity comes into question due to her failure to submit her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) as law professor at the University of the Philippines.

However, in the 205-page Motion for Reconsideration that Sereno filed on May 30, she contended that the majority violated her constitutional right to due process when it ignored evidence that she had filed her UP SALNs.

READ: Sereno asks SC to reconsider ruling that led to her ouster

In her plea, Sereno said, “The matters that were never raised by either party are actually mere allegations or charges raised in the impeachment complaint before the House of Representatives, all of which have yet to be proven.”

“Since the allegations stated therein are nothing more than mere charges, they cannot be taken as evidence against the Chief Justice Sereno,” she added.

Eight justices-Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Noel Tijam, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Samuel Martires, Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo- voted to grant Calida’s petition while those who dissented with the majority were acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Presbitero Velasco Jr., Estela Perlas Bernabe, Mariano del Castillo and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

Meanwhile, Sereno’s camp welcomes the high court’s action asking Calida to comment first before issuing a ruling.

“We are encouraged that the Justices have given themselves more time to appreciate the new arguments, facts and matters that make the reconsideration of the May 11 Decision compelling,” Atty. Jojo Lacanilao, one of Sereno’s spokesperson said in a statement.

“Unless reconsidered, that Decision will wreak havoc on the basic premise of judicial decisions, which is fair play in an impartial tribunal, consistency with judicial precedents and as important, the preservation of the constitutional checks and balance,” he added.

He urged the high court to set aside personal animosity and “rule only according to what is right.” /vvp