US basketball

Sereno not resigning: ‘Ano sila, sinusuwerte?’

Frank Cimatu

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Sereno not resigning: ‘Ano sila, sinusuwerte?’
In her first public appearance after being pressured by other justices to go on indefinite leave, Chief Justice Ma Lourdes Sereno says the only way to remove her from office is through impeachment

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Beleaguered Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is not resigning, this she made clear on Friday, March 2, in her first public appearance after being pressured unanimously by her colleagues in the Supreme Court to take an indefinite leave.

Speaking before students of the University of Baguio College of Law and lawyers from the Cordillera about judicial independence, Sereno brought the house down during the question-and-answer portion when she referred to those who were calling for her resignation: “Ano sila, sinusuwerte?” (They’re pushing their luck too far.)

She later said that she doesn’t believe in luck, and that God is on her side in this battle.

Sereno, wearing a red blouse and a black pantsuit, delivered an almost-hour-long speech, mainly on judicial reforms she introduced as chief justice. She only spoke for about 15 minutes about what she called her “condition.”

“Allow me to make a call for everyone to respect the impeachment process by allowing it to take the only allowable force which is by the Constitution,” Sereno said.

“The House committee on justice finished its process. What happens next is critically important to our democracy. The only constitutional way allowed for handling the impeachment proceedings in the House is to vote on the question of probable cause in a timely manner and not drag it further, nor couple it with calls for extraconstitutional help, like facilitating the ouster of the Chief Justice or calling on the Supreme Court to do the job of the Senate,” she added.

“The House has to find some probable cause or not or else elevate it to the Senate. The proponents of the impeachment have bared their uncertainties and have been contradicting themselves, saying they have solid evidence while stridently calling for my resignation,” she said.

“If they were so sure of their evidence even to the point of perjuring baseless accusations, if they can prove that I have committed the hardest of sins against the people, why not bring it to the Senate?” she said, to the applause of her audience at the UB Gymnasium.

“Instead we have this additional injurious spectacle, including having members of the court and judicial system threatened with administrative and judicial cases. I ask only one thing: give me one day in the Senate impeachment court,” she said.

Sereno did not mention the recent act of her colleagues, and claimed that the Baguio judges are among the fairest of the lot. It was not clear if she was also referring to Baguio boy Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, who were among those who asked her to take an indefinite leave.

Read:
Why SC justices forced Sereno to go on leave
Sereno’s indefinite leave a ‘consensus’ of SC en banc

But Sereno said she could only be removed from office through an impeachment process and not by an “internal action,” seemingly alluding to an en banc consensus of asking her to go on an indefinite leave. Her spokespersons have called this move extra-constitutional.

“I will not resign. No I will not. I will give an account of my actions as the Chief Justice to the people. I owe the people to tell my story. I am hopeful that after the impeachment trial, days of renewal for the Supreme Court can still be forged, united by the common desire to serve the people and protect the constitutional rights especially in these troubled times,” Sereno said.

“I remain steadfast in fighting for judicial independence. I have faith that in the end what some unpatriotic men and women have intended for evil in the form of my impeachment, God will turn into good,” she continued. – Rappler.com 

 

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!