The Chief Justice speaks her mind amongst all the noise
surrounding her person being the Chief Justice.
A day after the Philippine Judges Association (PJA), Supreme
Court Employees Association (SCEA), Supreme Court Assembly of Lawyer Employees
(SCALE), Philippine Association of Court Employees (PACE) and the Sandiganbayan
Employees Association (SEA), made a joint statement calling the top magistrate
to resign, Maria Lourdes Sereno calls for some sort of ceasefire… just enough
time for her to air her side of the story.
Sereno vowed to fight “to the end” as she shrug off the
moves of the court employees and has labelled it as “extra-constitutional
adventurism” that could further hurt the rule of law in the country. *
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| Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno during a speaking engagement organized by her supporters in the University of the Philippines in Diliman (photo credit Philstar) |
“Resigning from my post as Chief Justice will only
serve to erode the independence of the Supreme Court and embolden those who
demand a subservient judiciary,” CJ Sereno said in a speaking engagement organized
by her supporters in Quezon City.
The top magistrate slammed her critics for their moves
to remove her as Chief Justice and reminded them to just wait for her formal
trial before the Senate impeachment court.
Last week the Office of the Solicitor General filed a
quo warranto petition questioning the legality of Sereno’s appointment as chief
magistrate.
Sereno in the same speaking
engagement stressed she would “do the right thing and fight this impeachment to
the end.”
Sereno lambasted her critics who
are part of government for the abusing their power.
“Alang-alang sa Inang Bayan, kailangang labanan ko ito
para hindi maulit ang kalapastanganan ng ito ng ilang makapangyarihan (For the
sake of our motherland, I need to fight this so there will not be a repeat of
this travesty by those in power),” the Chief Justice added.
The flag ceremony yesterday by court employees mark
the second week of the “red Monday” protest which they showed up in red shirt
to further dramatize their protests against Chief Justice Sereno. *
The joint statement states that , “The pending
impeachment proceedings in recent months have put the entire judiciary in
disrepute, thereby affecting the honor and integrity of its justices, judges,
officials have pitted against each other resulting in a distressing atmosphere.
This is aggravated by the fact that the Court en banc has taken cognizance of
the petition for quo warrants and ordered her to file her comment thereto,
instead of dismissing it outright. The Court can no longer endure a prolonged
environment of this kind. Its officials and personnel, truly dedicated and
conscientious public servants, cannot go through another set of hearings and go
against each other again in the Senate.”
Sereno bewailed that some of the judges and court employees
may have been feeling the political pressure from the side of the government.
“It is very sad for the institution that some judges and employees whose
freedom and conscience and independence I have fought very hard to defend have
succumbed to pressures to enter the political fray,” CJ Sereno said.
“They say the judiciary should move on. But what peace can there be if
there is no justice? And there can never be justice unless all parties are
heard. My only wish is, please wait for me to air my side before the Senate,”
she said. *
Sereno expressed confidence the judiciary “will emerge stronger and more
highly regarded” after the controversy.
Report from PhilStar
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