ACTING Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio on Thursday disclosed that the Supreme Court (SC) has agreed to rule next month on the quo warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to declare as null and void the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno as the country’s top magistrate.
“By next month, we should be able to decide it,” Carpio told reporters at the launch of the new app called Justice PH held at the Quezon City Hall of Justice.
The month of May is usually being set aside by the SC for decision writing of the justices, but the Court has set a special en banc session next month to decide on the quo warranto petition.
The SC’s resolution on the quo warranto case filed by Solicitor General Jose C. Calida last month is expected to be resolved ahead of the impeachment of Sereno in the House of Representatives, which would then become moot and academic if the Court decides to remove her as Chief Justice.
Calida filed the petition seeking to nullify Sereno’s appointment, citing her alleged failure to fully disclose her wealth before applying for the top SC post in 2012 following the
ouster of former Chief Justice Renato C. Corona due to unexplained wealth.
Calida said Sereno failed to comply with the requirement set by the Judicial and Bar Council which is the submission of Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth.
Last week the 15-man High Tribunal conducted an oral argument on the petition and ordered both the Sereno camp and Calida to submit their respective memorandum on or before April 20.
Meanwhile, Sereno’s Spokesman, lawyer Josa Deinla questioned the SC’s move to immediately resolve the quo warranto petition without even looking at the arguments of the intervenors.
“We cannot held but ask why the rush? The SC is supposed to be on break after its last en banc session on April 24 in Baguio. They are on recess in May and are supposed to resume session on June 5,” Deinla said. “The quo warranto petition is a very important case which if granted will upend our justice system as we know it. The SC has not even heard the side of any intervenors,” she added.
Meanwhile, detained Sen. Leila M. de Lima and Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV reiterated their plea for the SC to junk the quo warranto petition against Sereno due to lack of jurisdiction.
The two senators earlier filed a joint intervention petition before the SC which was merely “noted” by the Court without action.
In their intervention, the two staunch critics of the Duterte administration argued that Sereno may only be removed through the impeachment process in Congress and only once she is found guilty by the Senate sitting as impeachment court.
They, likewise, cited the “hostile environment” in the SC and “lack of impartiality” of some SC justices that have allegedly “clouded” the case.
“With all due respect to the Honorable Court, the proceedings on April 10 cannot honestly be considered as wholly impartial, as to satisfy the due process requirement that those who shall here, try, and decide cases ought to possess the cold neutrality of impartial
judges,” the senators argued, referring to the oral arguments on the case where Sereno had a heated confrontation with the justices.
“[We] strongly urge the Honorable Court to reflect on the wisdom of proceeding with this case notwithstanding the apparent lack of impartiality of some of its members,” they added.