Sereno’s appointment as CJ questioned at OSG

By Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz

SUSPENDED lawyer Eligio P. Mallari of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) submitted to the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG) a letter requesting to initiate a “quo warranto proceeding in the name of the Republic of the Philippines” to challenge the validity of the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno.

“Any lawyer worth his salt would tell you that Sereno’s title to the office could be tried in a quo warranto proceeding,” Mr. Mallari said in his letter addressed to Solicitor-General Jose C. Calida on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

“Right now, Sereno’s competence and integrity are under intense public scrutiny. Having scored very low or flunked the psychological test and in view of non-submission of all her SALNs (statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth) prior to appointment, Sereno’s claim to the position is tenuous, and must be challenged in a quo warranto proceeding by the Solicitor General,” Mr. Mallari added.

The Supreme Court early this month suspended Mr. Mallari as lawyer for two years following his failure to pay P34,000 worth of loans from the Government Service and Insurance System.

At the recent impeachment proceedings by the House committee on justice, Associate Justices Diosdado M. Peralta and Teresita J. Leonardo-De Castro questioned Ms. Sereno’s appointment in 2012.

For her part, Judicial and Bar Council Executive Director Annaliza S. Ty-Capacite testified before the House panel, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo V. Umali, that Ms. Sereno submitted only three SALNs, which fall short of the 10 required when she applied for the top position in the high court.

Likewise, committee senior vice-chair Rep. Vicente S. Veloso said Ms. Sereno’s appointment was “void from the beginning.”

Lawyer Lorenzo G. Gadon in his impeachment complaint accused Ms. Sereno of culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.

The Umali committee is nearing the conclusion of its proceedings as it plans to draft the articles of impeachment by March.