The camp of ousted chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said it was unfair for Solicitor General Jose Calida to blame his troubles on his role in unseating the top magistrate.
“That’s unfair. That’s not true. You can’t be attacked if there is no basis for the attack,” said lawyer Jojo Lacanilao, a spokesperson for Sereno.
Calida has come under fire after it was revealed that his family-owned security agency has cornered lucrative deals with other government agencies.
Responding to the criticism, Calida blamed Sereno supporters.
“Did I commit graft? No, I did not. They are angry with me because I won the quo warranto case and ousted their chief justice. Had I lost the case, they will not attack me like this,” Calida told CNN Philippines Thursday morning.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. has also said Calida’s “enemies” are getting back at him for winning the landmark quo warranto case against Sereno.
“They’re getting back at him, those who were hurt by the quo warranto ruling. It’s obvious,” Roque said in Filipino.
The Sereno camp, meanwhile, warned the Supreme Court that it could end up in a constitutional crisis if it ignores a resolution filed by senators challenging her ouster through a quo warranto petition.
The warning came after Sereno filed her motion seeking for reconsideration of the Court decision ousting her from the top judicial post after finding merit in the quo warranto petition filed by Calida.
Carlo Cruz, a spokesman for Sereno, said a constitutional crisis could develop between the judicial and legislative branch if the Court ignores the position of the 14 senators who signed the resolution.
“We are not saying that there is [constitutional crisis]; we are just saying that it is possible and we are doing everything we can with the help of the Supreme Court to prevent it,” Cruz said.
“We will leave it, of course, up to the Supreme Court to determine whether or not this particular petition could result in what is perceived to be potentially a constitutional crisis,” he added.
The Sereno camp said they are hoping the SC justices would consider the resolution by senators which they submitted as part of new arguments in a bid to convince the Court to reverse its ruling.
Resolution 738 specifically urged the SC to review its decision, invoking the power of the Senate to decide on the impeachment case against impeachable officials through trial.
It was signed by Senators Francis Pangilinan, Franklin Drilon, Antonio Trillanes IV, Risa Hontiveros, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, and Leila de Lima, Sherwin Gatchalian, Sonny Angara, Grace Poe, Francis Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Ralph Recto, Loren Legarda, and Aquilino Pimentel III.
The Senate failed to adopt the resolution, however, before it adjourned this week.
Sereno maintains that impeachment is the only constitutional way to oust her and has demanded her day in court before a trial before the Senate.
