Sereno camp hits House committee for questioning CJ’s appointment

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LYN RILLON

The camp of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno chided on Thursday the House justice committee for suggesting that her appointment may have been “void” from the start.

Lawyer Carlo Cruz, counsel for Sereno, slammed the House committee for questioning the validity of Sereno’s appointment to the Supreme Court’s (SC) top post, stressing that it was not covered by the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon.

“That matter is clearly not covered by the impeachment complaint. Neither can it be the subject of an impeachment proceeding. The Constitution prescribes specific grounds and this is clearly not among them,” Cruz said in a statement.

Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso said Sereno’s appointment was “invalid” from the start due to her supposed failure to comply with the requirements set by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to submit her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

During the impeachment hearing on February 12, senior SC Justices Diosdado Peralta and Teresita Leonardo de Castro said they were not informed that Sereno had failed to submit her most recent SALNs for the past 10 years as required by the JBC.

“Lumalabas talaga ngayon (It now appears) that the appointment of Sereno was void from the beginning,” Veloso said.

READ: Justices cry ‘grave injustice’ over Sereno’s exemption from SALN requirement

But for Sereno’s camp, the issue reeks of “utter desperation” on the part of the House justice committee.

“They ought to move on to more substantial issues. Their sticking to non-issues like this one smacks of utter desperation — an acknowledgment that they still do not have any real evidence to support the basic allegations in the impeachment complaint even after more than a dozen hearings,” Cruz stressed.

Moreover, Cruz said the House cannot “assail or challenge the decisions of the JBC, which is an independent constitutional body, and of the President who appoints to the Judiciary on the basis of the JBC’s nominations.”

“Sereno applied, made full disclosures about her SALNs, was found to have substantially complied with the JBC’s requirements, and duly nominated after having been found qualified,” he further said.

Sereno’s camp earlier insisted she met the JBC requirements, explaining that three SALNs were filed since she was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 2010.

They said Sereno did not submit SALNs for previous years as she was in private practice prior to her appointment to the high court. /jpv