CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Friday challenged the House of Representatives to immediately transmit the impeachment complaint against her to the Senate for trial if they find probable cause.
“Give me my day in the Senate impeachment court or admit that there is no probable cause,” Sereno said before a gathering of judges, lawyers and law students at the University of Baguio.
“If they were so sure of their evidence even to the point of perjuring themselves with baseless accusations that they can prove that I committed a harvest of sins against the people, why not bring it to the Senate?” she said in her first public appearance since going on indefinite leave on March 1 to prepare her defense.
Instead of immediately resolving the impeachment case against her, she said, there was an “additional terribly injurious spectacle where court and Judicial and Bar Council officials are being threatened with administrative and criminal cases.”
She again rejected calls for her resignation and appealed to her critics “to respect the impeachment process,” which includes her looming trial in the Senate.
“I owe the people the duty to tell my story,” she said.
She also vowed to fight for judicial independence.
“It is when hope seems to be at its dimmest that you must be at your bravest,” Sereno said.
“I am hopeful that after the impeachment trial, days of renewal for the Supreme Court can still be forged, united by the common desire to serve our people and protect their constitutional rights especially in these troubled times,” the chief justice said.
On Thursday, Sereno apologized for the confusion created by conflicting statements made by her lawyers regarding her leave of absence.
She also said her decision to go on leave did not mean she was contemplating resignation.
“I have not resigned and I will not resign. This indefinite leave is not a resignation. I will devote my time to the preparation of my Senate defense and work on the cases in my docket,” Sereno said in a statement.
“It is unfortunate that my plan of making use of an already approved wellness leave in relation to an indefinite leave was inaccurately conveyed for which I apologized,” the embattled chief justice added.
Meanwhile, lawyer Oliver Lozano, a Marcos loyalist, prodded the Supreme Court to nullify Sereno’s appointment because she did not comply with the legal requirements for her position.
Lozano said the impeachment hearing at the House and the question on Sereno’s qualifications “have caused deep division and dissension in the bench and bar.”
Lozano’s petition is the second legal move seeking to oust Sereno outside of the impeachment process.
Last month, suspended lawyer Eligio Mallari asked the Office of the Solicitor General to initiate quo warranto proceedings against Sereno, saying she was not qualified for the job.
Mallari argued that Sereno had no legal right to her position after she failed to submit the requirements in her application for the position of chief justice before the Judicial and Bar Council.
Also on Friday, the Psychological Association of the Philippines criticized the use of Sereno’s psychological tests during the impeachment hearings at the House, saying that any psychological assessment should be used only for the purpose it was intended, and not for “damaging a person’s character.”
“To use a psychological assessment conducted in 2012 [which was for the purpose of Chief Justice Sereno’s appointment] for the current legislative proceedings is a misuse of those results,” the group said.
While it claimed it was neither favoring nor opposing issues involving Sereno, the PAP said it “condemn[s] the unethical practice of using confidential psychological information for purposes of discrediting or damaging a person’s character.”
In his impeachment complaint against Sereno, lawyer Lorenzo Gadon alleged that Sereno is “unfit” for the position she was appointed to in 2012 because of her low score in the psychological test.
