Sereno sees Duterte’s hand in oust moves against her

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Monday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to explain to the public why Solicitor General Jose Calida was the one who filed the quo warranto petition against her.

“Pakipaliwanag po bakit si Solicitor General (Jose) Calida ang nag-file nitong quo warranto. Surely you must explain to the people why this unconstitutional act,” Sereno said in an event organized by the Movement Against Tyranny in Quezon City.

Sereno also raised the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon at the House of Representatives.

“Hindi ko pa siya ever nakita ni anino niya. Ngunit lumalabas nakita na pala siya ng ilang beses ni President Duterte kaya nagtataka ako ano ito,” Sereno said.

“Wala siya sa kahit anong activity ng Korte Suprema ngunit sinabi niya under oath na lahat ito ginawa ko kahit wala siya sa Supreme Court. Hindi maitatanggi na may kamay na gumalaw dito,” she added.

Duterte had repeatedly denied that he had a hand in ouster moves against the chief justice.

"Alam mo, sinabi sa akin merong narinig na si Sereno, 'Duterte is out to…' Ha, ako raw? She can ask anybody, I guarantee you. I’ll make a guarantee, magtanong siya diyan kung may nilapitan ako na sinasabi ko, 'Impeach niyo si Sereno,'" Duterte said after attending the 65th general assembly of the League of Cities of the Philippines in 2017.

Gadon had also said that Duterte was not involved in his filing of an impeachment complaint against Sereno.

'Height of absurdity'

Sereno said Calida is at the “height of absurdity” when he, the government’s top lawyer, looked for her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) during her tenure as professor at the University of the Philippines 27 years ago.

“Si Solicitor General po nagtataka ako na bakit yung na-file mong SALN 27 years ago ay ganito nakalagay. Ano po ba ang puwede kong nakawin sa UP? Meron ba kong kayang itago bilang propesor sa UP?” Sereno said.

“Nakakatawa na ho, nakakatawa at nakakahiya na ang Solicitor General ay nagbubungkal kung ano ang inideklara ko nung ako ay 30 years old. Saan kayo nakita na para ako tanggalin ay bubungkalin ang aking record sa UP. Anong hypocrisy yan?” she added.

Sereno also called on the House of Representatives to release a budget report on its expenses during the 15 committee hearings conducted to determine probable cause in her impeachment complaint.

"It has been how many months now, nine months of this grueling ordeal that they had made me go through. In addition to being vilified over the airwaves daily, the budget for these must have been millions if not billions. The only thing I had asked was that the process be fair," Sereno said.

She, nonetheless, vowed to fight for the independence of the judiciary and for those seeking justice, saying she should have already quit her job if she let her emotions prevail.

"Kung ininda ko ito, paano na lang ang mga kababayan nating may kaso at naiipit sila ng sistemang hindi makatarungan. Kung ininda ko ang sarili kong damdamin ay dati ko pa sana sinabing 'I give up,'" Sereno said. —ALG/KG, GMA News