President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday, April 9, declared himself an “enemy” of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno after she implied he had a hand in Solicitor-General Jose C. Calida’s quo warranto petition and lawyer Lorenzo G. Gadon’s impeachment complaint seeking to oust her.
“Sinasabi ko na sa iyo na hindi ako nakikialam (I have been telling you, I am not meddling [with the case]),” Mr. Duterte told reporters on Monday at a Davao press conference prior to his flight to China for the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2018.
“I’m your enemy and you have to be out of the Supreme Court,” he added, before ordering House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez to “kindly fast track the impeachment.”
Ms. Sereno earlier in the morning told the crowd of an event organized by opposition groups in commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) that Mr. Duterte should explain “why Sol-Gen Calida, na nagrereport sa iyo, ang nag-file nitong quo warranto petition (why Sol-Gen Calida, who reports to you, filed this quo warranto petition).”
“Surely you must explain to the people why this (is an) unconstitutional act,” she added. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio

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