Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Thursday asked trial court judges to stay focused on their work as dispensers of truth and justice and not to be sidetracked by political noise meant to unseat her as the country’s top magistrate.
Speaking at the gathering of the Philippine Trial Judges League Inc. during its 24th annual convention and biennal election held at The Oriental Hotel in Palo, Leyte, Sereno urged the members of the judiciary to “stay true to their oaths” and stay out of politics.
“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 said.
“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 added.
It was Sereno’s first public appearance since the House Committee on Justice, voting 25-2, declared on Oct. 4 that there was sufficient ground to proceed with the impeachment proceedings even without discussing each of the 27 allegations against her, some of which, lawyer Lorenzo Gadon conceded, may not be impeachable offenses at all.
The country’s top magistrate told trial court judges that the “greatest demonstration of support” they can give her was 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,” she said.
In front of those she called as “frontliners of our courts,” Sereno reiterated that the impeachment process does not bother her because she knows that the truth was on her side.
“To tell you the truth, I do not feel as embattled as the news stories may portray me to be,” she said. “As one of my younger staff remarked, ‘Ang chill ni CJ, bagay ang pangalan—Sereno, as in serene… Kalmado.’”
She continued: “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.”
“Alam kong hindi ako nagsinungaling, hindi ako nandaya, hindi ako nanlamang ng kapwa, at ginawa ko nang tama ang trabaho ko bilang Punong Mahistrado. I have enough faith in the truth to sleep soundly at night; I have enough faith in our people, and in our democratic systems, to know that narratives built on lies will eventually crumble.”
The chief justice also reminded trial judges that the “greatest battle for our democratic system is not happening in the newspapers, or in other august halls in Manila” but “in your courtrooms.”
“Mamayang gabi, lulubog ang araw; bukas, sisikat ang araw, at may mga kaso pa rin tayong dapat trabahuhin, may mga reporma tayong dapat isulong,” Sereno told the judges.
“All I ask is that tomorrow, you wake up and resolve to do the best, most honest, fairest work that you can do, and again the day after that, and again the day after that. There is nothing more that a Chief Justice can ask of you,” she said.