By Charmaine A. Tadalan
FORMER chief justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno in an interview Thursday said she is still considering where politics will fit in her life outside the Supreme Court (SC).
“I get contradictory observations. May mga politiko na nagsasabing kaya, may mga nagsasabing huwag, Chief, remain a purist. So tingnan natin. (There are politicians saying it’s possible, but there are those saying, don’t, Chief, remain a purist. So let’s see),” Ms. Sereno said in an interview with The Chiefs at One News.
The SC on Tuesday ruled her ouster as final, after it denied her motion for reconsideration on the quo warranto case filed by the government’s lawyer, Jose C. Calida.
Ms. Sereno, who now refers to herself as “Citizen Meilou,” has maintained public appearances that have prompted speculations as to whether she will run for public office.
Asked if she will pursue legal challenges against “anything that is being done by the administration,” Ms. Sereno said, “As a lawyer, as a legal activist, hindi muna (not for now). I will take a step back from that role in the meantime. Mas nag-ko-concentrate ako sa pag-consolidate ng consensus ng mga tao.” (I would rather concentrate on consolidating the consensus among the people.)
As for speculations on her life outside the high court, she said, “Hindi naman talaga mahirap isipin na natural lang na marami nang nagsabi sa akin na tumakbo. Ngunit gaya ng sinabi ko dati sa inyo, may proseso tayong pagdadaan,” she said. (It’s not difficult to think that it’s only natural that many would say I should run. But, like I said, there’s a process we need to go through.)
“I have to go through a process of finding out what is best for our country, what is required to enter into a political contest,” she added.
“The priority right now is to encourage unity among all those who have coalesced their forces in order to fight for judicial independence. All of those people, so many, went to me these past few months and said ‘Chief, you have to speak about these issues, you’re able to articulate them, you’re able to understand what is in our minds, and because you have a platform that history has given you, go ahead.’”
“I believe the best in us can still come out. Hindi pwedeng hindi eh, kasi ang dami nating pwedeng paghugutan (We can’t say it’s impossible, because there’s so much we can draw from): the Filipino-Spanish War, the revolution against the Americans. They call to mind so many heroic deeds of our people. We were always outnumbered, we were always outgunned, but, boy, did we fight.”
“Once a justice always a justice,” she also said.

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