BAGUIO CITY, Philippines– After consistently defending her position from efforts to oust her for months, Chief Justice on leave Maria Lourdes Sereno has gone on the offensive.
Sereno addressed her supporters Tuesday night and vowed to fight to the end, following a heated oral argument with her fellow justices on the quo warranto petition that seeks her disqualification from office.
“Walang atrasan! Tuloy ang laban! (No retreat! The fight continues!)” she told dozens of supporters who picketed near the Supreme Court (SC) compound here during the six-hour hearing.
Sereno presented herself as “a defender of democracy” and insisted she would not bow to the powers that be.
“You’ve all seen how we defended our rights to protect our freedom against oppressors who are destroying our democracy,” she said in Filipino.
“We should not allow those in power to oppress us. You know what I mean. We have to fight on all fronts to make sure that democracy in the Philippines will remain,” she added.
Last Monday, Sereno publicly accused President Duterte of being behind moves to oust her.
An irate Duterte quickly responded and called for Sereno’s ouster as an “enemy” and asked Congress to “fast track” the impeachment proceedings.
Sereno may eye Senate run
The embattled Chief Justice is reportedly open to the possibility of shifting to a political career should her efforts to defend her position in the Supreme Court fail, a source told The STAR yesterday.
Sereno is specifically considering running for senator in the midterm elections if she would be ousted as chief magistrate either through impeachment or the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida at the SC.
The source, who is privy to such plan but requested anonymity, said Sereno wants to pursue a career in public service “to really fight for the oppressed like her.”
“I think she has already accepted whatever the outcome of the impeachment and quo warranto cases will be,” the insider said.
The insider further bared that Sereno has also been prodded by her supporters to run for senator during her speaking engagements all over the country since taking leave from the court last month.
Leftist party-list representatives yesterday denounced Duterte’s marching order for the House to speed up the transmittal of the impeachment case against Sereno to the Senate for trial.
“President Duterte’s order for Congress to fast-track the impeachment proceedings is a confirmation that he is behind the ouster of the Chief Justice,” Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro of Alliance of Concerned Teachers said.
They said Duterte wants Sereno removed so he could control the judiciary and all three branches of government. And by wanting to “silence” the judiciary, the President is showing his “dictatorial tendencies.” – With Delon Porcalla