MANILA — Solicitor General Jose Calida on Tuesday lauded the Supreme Court (SC) decision to set oral arguments on the quo warranto petition seeking to nullify the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on April 10.
“There is no better party to address the petition head-on than Sereno herself. Any other litigant will only unnecessarily add more issues to be resolved by the Supreme Court,” said Calida in a post on his official Twitter account.
“The petition for quo warranto presented the issue of whether Sereno is a person of proven integrity as required by the constitution of all members of judiciary,” the top government counsel added.
Calida also lauded the decision of the high court denied the petition to intervene on the quo warranto petition.
“Allowing intervenors to participate cannot possibly result in a more expeditious resolution of the issue,” he noted.
The SC has set the oral arguments on April 10 at Baguio City.
“The Petition for Quo Warranto will be heard on oral argument on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 2:00 in the afternoon at the Supreme Court Session Hall in Baguio City, with an instruction to respondent Chief Justice for her to attend personally and answer questions from the Court En Banc,” SC spokesman Theodore Te announced the directive during the summer session of the magistrates in Baguio City.
Te said the Court granted Sereno’s motion for oral arguments.
Te also said the court denied petition filed by the Makabayan bloc consisting of party-list lawmakers led by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate and a group of private individuals led by running protest Fr. Robert Reyes seeking to intervene on the quo warranto petition.
However, the court noted the intervention petition filed by Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
In its petition, the IBP, through its president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo, said Sereno could only be removed through impeachment as stated by the 1987 Constitution.
Calida’s petition against Sereno stemmed from a letter filed by suspended lawyer Eligio Mallari, urging him to initiate a quo warranto proceeding against the top magistrate.
Last Feb. 21, Mallari, who called Sereno a “de facto chief justice”, asked the OSG to initiate a quo warranto proceeding against her.
Under Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, a quo warranto proceeding is an action by the government against a person who unlawfully holds a public office or holds a position where he or she is not qualified.
Calida insisted that a quo warranto proceeding is a “proper remedy to question the validity of Sereno’s appointment.”
Sereno has earlier asked the SC to dismiss the OSG’s petition on technical grounds, particularly for lack of jurisdiction and violation of the one-year prescription period for the filing of such petitions.
She argued that the SC has no jurisdiction and authority to remove her from office because the 1987 Constitution provides that she could only be ousted by impeachment in Congress as she is an impeachable official.
Sereno, who is currently on indefinite leave, earlier said she is ready to face impeachment proceedings in the Senate anytime soon. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
