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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Friday, March 2, 2018
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MANILA – Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno began her indefinite leave on Thursday as she prepares for a possible impeachment trial in the Senate.
But late Wednesday night she reiterated that she will not quit her post.
“Four words: I will not resign,” the chief justice told a televised GMA News interview.
Her colleagues have reportedly pressured Sereno during an en banc session to take an indefinite leave or they will publicly call for her resignation.
Thirteen out of the 15 Supreme Court justices have “arrived at a consensus” that Sereno should take an “indefinite leave” from her job, the high court has clarified.
Sereno consulted with the two most senior justices and announced she was taking an indefinite leave, showed a statement that Supreme Court Public Information Office chief Theodore Te read on Thursday.
“After extended deliberations last Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018, 13 of the justices present arrived at a consensus that the chief justice should take an indefinite leave,” the high court said.
Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio will serve as acting chief justice.
It is unconstitutional for high court magistrates to force the chief justice to resign, Sereno spokesman Jojo Lacanilao told a news conference.
“Resignation is a personal decision. It cannot be an institutional decision of the Supreme Court,” Lacanilao said, adding that the Senate will be an avenue for Sereno “to prove the allegations wrong.”
Sereno “will step down immediately if she will be found guilty by the Senate,” said Lacanilao. “There is no body or institution outside of the Senate that can force the chief justice to resign. Nobody can decide that other than the Senate.”
Another Sereno spokesman, Josa Deinla, said there appears to be a “desperate and coordinated” effort to remove the chief justice through “extra-constitutional means.”
Deinla cited the attempt to force Sereno to resign, the call for the Office of the Solicitor General to initiate a quo warranto petition against her, the filing of a complaint with the Ombudsman, and the harassment of court officials “whose only fault was to speak the truth.”
“These are just indications of desperate and coordinated attempts not only to remove the chief justice but also to mock the rule of law,” said Deinla.
The judiciary will continue to function even if she takes an indefinite leave, Sereno said at a Regional Trial Court Clerks of Court Association of the Philippines event at the Manila Hotel.
“I want to give you the assurance, that while I’m taking a leave of absence, the ship of the judiciary remains on course,” Sereno said. “I need to prepare to fight the accusations against me, fairly and squarely, with honor, dignity and grace.”
“It makes me proud to fight for you,” Sereno told court employees. “I intend to fight the impeachment case fair and square not only for myself but for the entire judiciary.”
The House of Representatives Committee on Justice is set to vote on March 7 on the probable cause for the impeachment./PN
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