Sereno: I turned down 'offers' to mend ties with Duterte

MANILA - Ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Friday said she rejected earlier "offers" to have a dialogue with President Rodrigo Duterte to mend ties and ask for the withdrawal of the impeachment complaint and quo warranto petition filed against her.

"May mga offer. May mga ideya na ganyan na ang solusyon sa problema ay pakikipag-usap o pagbabati," Sereno told reporters without divulging who volunteered to set up a meeting between her and the president.

(There were offers. There were ideas floated that mending ties with Duterte would be the solution to my problems.)

Sereno said she turned down the offers and idea as she felt that it would compromise the judiciary's independence.

"Hindi ako nakipagkompromiso. Nanindigan ako. Kung ako ay nag-compromise dun, hihina ako (as chief justice)," she said.

(I did not compromise. I stood firm. If I compromised, I would become a weak chief justice.)

"Hindi puwede na ang politicians ang magsasabi o magdidikta sa bayan, kailangan Constitution," she said.

Sereno was ousted as top magistrate after 8 of her colleagues voted in favor of the Solicitor General's petition to nullify her appointment in 2012 for not submitting all her Statements of Assets Liabilities and Net worth (SALNs) when was applied for the post.

An impeachment case against Sereno is still pending at the House of Representatives where Duterte enjoys a "super majority," but the SC ruling makes it moot. 

Sereno, the youngest and the first female chief justice of the Philippines, said she had no regrets that she brushed off the offer to "play politics" with the executive department.

"An outsider, reformer, and someone who is not willing to play politics should be anticipating this outcome," she said.

Earlier this year, Duterte said he considered Sereno his "enemy" after she urged him to explain why the government's lawyer was seeking the invalidation of her appointment.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

SC allows justices to attend Sereno impeach hearings

MANILA -  The Supreme Court has voted Tuesday to allow magistrates and employees to participate in the impeachment hearings against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, a spokesman said.

"Those who are invited to testify on administrative matters may do so if they wish. The court is not requiring them but is granting them clearance if they so wish to appear and testify on administrative matters," Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te said.

The House justice committee invited SC magistrates and several employees to the hearings to answer allegations that Sereno bypassed her colleagues and falsified several court orders, including a temporary restraining order drafted by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro in 2013.

Te explained that Leonardo-De Castro has been authorized to testify on 3 matters only: the issuance of the TRO in the seniors' citizens cases and exchange of communication with Sereno; the merits of the decision on the clustering case involving the Judicial and Bar Council; and the merits of her separate concurring opinion in the case involving then Solicitor General and now Associate Justice Francis Jardaleza.

De Castro, Associate Justice Noel Tijam, and retired justice Arturo Brion have said they will attend the impeachment hearings once they get clearance from the SC en banc, justice panel chairperson Reynaldo Umali told DZMM.

Sereno is accused of misdeclaring her wealth and having an extravagant lifestyle.

Congressmen are determining if there is probable cause to pursue the impeachment case against the Chief Justice.

Sereno, who has denied any wrongdoing, refused to attend the hearings.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Palace: Duterte knows his limits

MANILA – President Duterte knows his limits.

So said Presidential Communications Office chief Martin Andanar after the president drew criticisms for threatening to impose martial law in the Philippines in response to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's letter airing concerns with the leader's move to name judges allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.

Addressing fears of a second martial law in the Philippines, Andanar said Duterte ''merely asked a rhetorical question and said it under the context that his anti-drug campaign cannot wait for the slow wheels of justice – PH style."

''The President has made use of executive powers at his disposal, knowing fully well the limits of these powers, and without undermining the constitutional separation of powers nor infringing upon the rights of citizens,'' he added.

Critics said Duterte incendiary comments against the head of a co-equal branch of government could trigger a constitutional crisis.

In her letter to Duterte a day after the judges were named, Sereno told Duterte that the judiciary was ''caught unprepared'' by his move.


Sereno stressed that the judiciary has administrative supervision over all courts, and that by being linked to the drug trade, the 7 judges were put in a vulnerable position.

To assert its jurisdiction over the judges, the SC asked the Palace on Tuesday to submit within seven days complaints for administrative proceedings against four out of seven judges in the president’s list.

The high court decided to treat Duterte's speech over the weekend as basis for complaints against these judges.

In a separate statement, Andanar sought to downplay fears of a constitutional crisis.

''The President is a member of the bar who believes in the rule of law and advocates for judicial independence. As President, he has the sworn duty to uphold and defend the Constitution. The words and action of the President all point to these,'' he said.

Duterte's bold moves in his anti-crime campaign has triggered concerns among critics that the leader is willing to put less premium to human rights and employ extralegal means in his quest to rid the country of illegal drugs.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com