Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has ended her leave of absence to resume her duties Displaying fortitude, the chief magistrate stated that she’s ready to face her accusers in the quo warranto case filed against her and the impending Senate impeachment trial.
Her spokesman Jojo Lacanilao said Chief Justice Sereno used her one month and two weeks leave to prepare for her legal fight. Sereno also used the time off from her judicial duties speaking at several public events. The recurring theme in her speeches—“the people must stand up to speak out against a looming totalitarian state under the Duterte administration.”
Questions are being asked as to why a quo warranto case was filed against Sereno when the House Justice committee had all the numbers to forward the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for the trial to proceed. Are the people behind the quo warranto case, not sure of the numbers for a guilty verdict in the Senate? In the present composition of the Senate Liberal Party Senators Franklin Drilon, Risa Hontiveros, Paulo “Bam” Aquino, Francis Pangilinanand Risa and Hontiveros plus Magdalo maverick Senator Antonio Trillanes IV might pose an acquittal verdict. There could be one or two senators who could cross party lines to join the opposition.
The Constitution is also quite clear a Chief Justice can only be removed by impeachment. Why Solicitor General Jose Calida still field the quo warranto case against Sereno seems like overkill in efforts to remove the chief justice at all costs. Why not let the impeachment trial proceed in the Senate?
Sereno warns that President Duterte wants to take full and total control of all three branches of government, pointing out he already has the vast executive power over the police and the military and Congress. She warned that the President now also seeks to undermine the judiciary so he can control the Supreme Court. Last week, President Duterte nominated SC Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro as Ombudsman to replace Conchita Carpio-Morales whose term ends this month.
Depending on the outcome of the electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, former Senator Bongbong Marcos could assume the VP post making Duterte’s grip on the reins of government total. This is tantamount to a totalitarian state, Robredo warned, echoing Sereno’s fears. We are not going to comment on this case as it is an ongoing proceedings. But the people must support whomever is declared the winner by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal which is handling the recount.
Trump-Kim summit
The historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jung-Un is set sometime this month. The venue is still not fixed because it has to be a neutral territory where the Korean leader’s aging private plane can fly to. The Russian-made plane of Kim cannot fly too far. Thus, Mongolia and Singapore are being considered for the summit venue. This comes after Pyongyang’s release of three Americans this week. The prisoners who are of Korean descent were accused of spying. They were sentenced to hard labor in a prison camp notorious for abysmal conditions.
The Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas was the venue for the recent meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
A fruitful meeting between Trump and Kim could result in the US lifting economic sanctions against North Korea which has managed to survive because of foreign aid from China. While the end of trade embargo would ease tension in the Korean Peninsula, there is still the problem of China’s aggression in the South China Sea territorial dispute. Trump warned China that its continued militarization of the various rocks, reefs and shoals turned into artificial islands would have “serious consequences.” This an implication the US might finally use military force to dismantle those military bases China built.
The deployment of Chinese missile launchers in the West Philippine Sea is the latest provocation that China may be triggering the outbreak of World War III. A miscalculation in the airspace over the South China Sea and its waters could be the spark to ignite a China-US encounter. Restraint must be exercised by both sides to prevent the powder keg situation from exploding.
Another global row is building up between the US and Iran after Trump threatened to revoke a nuclear deal signed by former President Barack Obama with Tehran.