MANILA — A civil society group urged Supreme Court (SC) spokesperson Theodore Te to resign after he expressed dissent to the High Court’s ruling on the quo warranto petition against ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Te posted to his Twitter account “I Dissent” last May 11, the day the High Court voted to oust Sereno.
Citizens’ Crime Watch (CCW) head lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said Te’s post was “disrespect” to the institution, saying that he must resign from his official function as a court official before expressing his own opinion on any High Court action or decision.
“Si Atty. Te, kung siya ay nagdi-disent ay dapat mag-resign na rin siya kung hindi siya kaisa sa diwa ng Korte Suprema (If Atty. Te dissents, he should resign if he is not one with the Supreme Court’s spirit.). He has no business being the spokesperson of the Supreme Court. Spokesperson ka ng Supreme Court, sino ka para mag-dissent (You are the spokesperson of the Supreme Court. Who are you to dissent)? You’re supposed to speak for the majority, you’re not supposed to interject your own opinion,” Topacio told reporters when asked for a comment at the sidelines of the High Court’s ‘Red Monday’ activity in support of the Supreme Court magistrates amid criticisms over the Sereno case ruling.
“Kung hindi niya kayang igalang yung naging [decision] ng Supreme Court (If he cannot respect the decision of Supreme Court), he should step down as Supreme Court spokesperson. Sumama na siya doon sa amo niya, kay Chief Justice Sereno (He must join his master, Chief Justice Sereno). Kasi nagtu-tweet siya, sinabi niya , ‘I Dissent,’ siya ay spokesperson ng Korte Suprema, hindi ng Chief Justice, hindi ng minority ng Korte Suprema (He posted a tweet ‘I Dissent’. He is the spokesperson of the SC, neither of the Chief Justice nor the minority of SC). If you cannot abide by the decision of the institution that you’re supposed to speak for, you should resign; you have no business there. Konting delicadeza (A bit of delicadeza), pañero,” Topacio noted, who is also currently counsel for advocacy group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).
Te, who did not explicitly state whether his post was related to the SC decision refused to comment on Topacio’s statement.
Te has been speaking on behalf of the SC on decisions and other official announcements. (PNA)
