CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno has shrugged off the apparent indifference of judges and court employees in her current plight, saying that she is confident to hurdle the impeachment proceedings against her because the truth is on her side.
In her speech during the annual convention of the Philippine Trial Judges League in Palo, Leyte, on Wednesday, the beleaguered chief magistrate said she remains “calm, chill and serene” amid the ongoing impeachment proceedings against her before the House of Representatives.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t not feel as embattled as the news stories may portray me to be…. I am like this because I know that the truth is on my side and, in a time of constant spin, when narratives are coopted to serve the personal agenda of a few, the truth is our bedrock,” Sereno said.
In fact, Sereno added she would not ask for a show of support from the judges, court employees or those in the legal circle, as this would only destroy the judiciary in the long term.
The Chief Magistrate added she has “enough faith in the truth to sleep soundly at night”.
“I did not come here to, as some would advise, rally the troops and ask you to wear armbands or hold placards for me,” Sereno told the judges.
“I know that, ultimately, such political maneuverings can only erode our branch of government in the long term, however, gratifying it may be at the moment. I have no interest in feeding my ego,” she stated.
The Chief Justice said she continues to perform her duties and remain unfazed by the impeachment charges.
She also urged judges to just continue performing their tasks and not to be sidetracked by her impeachment.
“Colleagues, the greatest battle for the democratic system is not happening in the newspapers…that is overblown, or in other…halls in Manila.… The real battle is happening in your courtrooms,” Sereno said.
She told the judge to “work hard, work with integrity, be honest in all your dealings and defend the Constitution as we all swore to do”.
“Remain steadfast in the conduct of your duties; zone out of politics and decide on your cases with openness, sobriety and fairness,” Sereno added.
Sereno made the statement after the House Committee on Justice, voting 25-2, declared there was sufficiency in grounds to proceed with the hearing on the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon.
It was earlier reported that Sereno has met with leaders of employees’ unions in the judiciary in an apparent move to gather support while she faces impeachment proceedings before Congress.
During the impeachment of the late Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, employees even took time from their lunch breaks to march along Padre Faura street in black shirts and black armbands and even covered the bronze statues of former chief justices Cayetano Arellano and Jose Abad Santos with black cloths to protest what they said was the “death of democracy”.
The judges’ associations also issued similar statements of support for the late Supreme Court chief.