Sereno to fight for her innocence in looming Senate impeachment trial

March 12, 2018

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno said she will fight for her innocence in the looming Senate impeachment trial despite calls for her resignation.

“I will not resign. I am determined to wage till the logical end this battle started by those who seek to undermine the Constitution and the Judiciary. I am resolute in carrying on the good and noble fight for judicial independence. I will finish the course of this thorny race,” Sereno said, in a speech before the Coalition for Justice organized by her supporters at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman.

Her speech took place as a nationwide “Red Monday” of the 1,200 Philippines Judges Association along with other court officials and employees called for her immediate resignation.

Sereno, who is on indefinite leave, said succumbing to calls for her to step down would be detrimental to the judiciary’s independence and would only  “embolden those who demand a subservient Judiciary.”

“To do so would invite the kind of extra constitutional adventurism that treats legal rights and procedures like mere inconveniences that should be set aside when it suits the powers that be,” Sereno said.

Although recognizing that resignation is an easy way out, Sereno said this is not the right thing to do.

“We should all remember  that I have yet to start telling my side of the story. You should all wait for my side before the Senate,” she pointed out.

Majority of the Supreme Court justices have asked Sereno to take an indefinite leave to insulate the SC from politics as she faces impeachment trial.

Last week, through a vote of 38-2, the House committee on justice found probable cause in the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon against Sereno.

Gadon, in his complaint, accused Sereno of culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of public trust.

In a joint statement, the PJA, Supreme Court Employees Association (SCEA), Supreme Court Assembly of Lawyer Employees (SCALE), Philippine Association of Court Employees (PACE) and the Sandiganbayan Employees Association (SEA) urged Sereno to step down to save the judiciary from “disrepute that affects the honor and integrity of justices, judges, and court employees.”

The groups called on Sereno to make sacrifices to preserve the judiciary as an independent institution.

“We, the entire force of the judiciary, which includes judges, officials and court employees under your leadership, are pleading you, our beloved Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, to do the timely and necessary sacrifice for the institution that you gave so much time and love in these past year. We are calling for the benefit of the entire Filipino community, to step down to your post as Chief Justice),” the groups said in a statement read by  SCEA President Erwin Ocson

PJA is SC-authorized association of regional trial court (RTC) judges with about 1,200 incumbent members nationwide while PACE is a nationwide organization of court employees.

On Monday, judges and court employees also wore red to show their desire for Sereno to resign.

Present during the flag raising ceremony were nine magistrates of the Supreme Court, namely: Senior Associate Justice and acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Noel Tijam, Samuel Martires, Francis Jardeleza, Mariano del Castillo, Lucas Bersamin, Diosdado Peralta, Teresita Leonardo de Castro and Presbitero Velasco Jr.

Retired Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna also attended the flag raising ceremony.

Ocson said as early as September last year, Sereno has already lost the support of the SC employees.

Among grievances of the employees, Ocson said, that caused Sereno to lost their support was the slow pace of approval of their benefits and promotions, adding that this caused demoralization in the rank-and-file employees. DMS