AN impeachment complaint has been filed against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at the House of Representatives on Wednesday </s> MANILA (UPDATED) - Anti-crime watchdogs and a lawyer on Wednesday filed impeachment complaints against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for supposed culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of public trust.

In their complaint filed before the House of Representatives, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution (VCPI) accused Sereno of releasing administrative orders without the approval of the Supreme Court en banc.

These include the creation of a new judiciary decentralized office and the re-opening of the Regional Court Administrative Office in Western Visayas, according to the complaint.

They also accused 57-year-old Sereno of approving the allegedly irregular appointment of several officials, and using SC funds for the travel allowances of her staff.



Sereno also failed to fill the year-long vacancies for a deputy clerk of court, a chief attorney and 2 assistant court administrators, the complainants said.

The Chief Justice has not received a copy of the complaint, Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te said.

The raps against Sereno however will not be considered as a verified impeachment complaint pending the endorsement of a congressman, according to the House Secretary General.

Sereno's predecessor, Renato Corona, was impeached and ousted in 2012 on allegations he misdeclared his wealth.

Lawyer Lorenzo Gadon, the other complainant, meanwhile said he met with congressmen he refused to name and gave them copies of his complaint and the attached documentary evidence.

Pressed for more details, Gadon said, “Marami-rami rin sila nag-closed door meeting kami, mga 5 sila."

"Sinabi lang sa akin kung matatapos ang pirmahan, baka next week," he said. "Kanina kasi, di nila maharap. May hearing kanina tungkol doon kay (BIR) Commissioner (Nicanor) Faeldon, hindi agad nila naharap, hindi nila agad nakita.”

Gadon claimed that the congressmen he met are looking at having the signatures of some 10 to 20 congressmen when it is filed.

He also said he met with House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez earlier but declined to give details. Alvarez previously expressed interest in impeaching Sereno.

VACC chair Dante Jimenez, on the other hand, said lawmakers should look at the merits of their complaint. "Let us give them the benefit of the doubt. Whether they endorse it or not, I don't care but of course look at it on the merits.”

Former Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Eligio Mallari, one of the co-complainants of VACC, said he expects "an endorsement from a minimum of 1/3 of the House of Representatives."

Their legal counsel, Manuelito Luna, said they have enough proof to substantiate their allegations.

The Gadon complaint alleges that Sereno failed to truthfully disclose her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth or SALN—the same allegation that got Corona ousted from office.

He also accused Sereno of alleged falsification of Supreme Court documents; delayed action on the petitions for retirement benefits of justices, judges and the surviving spouses of deceased justices and judges; alleged manipulation and delay in a resolution on the request of the Secretary of Justice to transfer the Maute cases outside of Mindanao; alleged manipulation of the shortlist of the Judicial and Bar Council; among others.

Gadon also accused Sereno of corruption over alleged use of public funds by ordering the purchase of a new vehicle amounting to more than P5 million; alleged use of public funds to stay in hotels when attending local and foreign conferences; flying on business or first class with her staff and security; and bringing a huge entourage of lawyers in her official foreign trips.

Among the incidents he cited for other high crimes include alleged obstruction of justice by ordering Muntinlupa judges not to issue warrants of arrest against Senator Leila M. De Lima; alleged failure to report her attorney’s fees and pay the appropriate taxes; alleged embellishment of her personal data sheet. - with reports from Robert Mano and RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News </s> Philippines Supreme Court justices, in a historic decision Friday, removed their own chief justice, Maria Lourdes Sereno, a known critic of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Voting 8-6 in a special en banc session, the Supreme Court declared void Sereno's nomination, over her alleged failure to disclose her wealth when filing of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth. 



“Respondent Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno is disqualified from and is hereby adjudged guilty of unlawfully holding and exercising the office of the chief justice,” said Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te, adding the order was effective immediately.



Sereno, who was the country's first female chief justice, is the first constitutional officer ousted outside impeachment proceedings and the second chief justice in Philippine history to be removed from office. Renato Corona was impeached in 2011 for betraying the public trust and committing culpable violation of the Constitution.



Sereno, who went on an indefinite leave in March had returned to work last Wednesday “after completing her preparation for her legal defenses against the baseless impeachment complaint filed against her”, said one of her spokespersons.



Sereno has been a staunch critic of Duterte and more specifically the drug war.

According to local media, over 4,000 drug suspects who resisted arrest have been killed in the past two years. </s> SUPPORTERS of President Rodrigo Duterte called on the House of Representative to support their impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), led by Dante Jimenez; lawyer Eligio Mallari of Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution; and lawyer Larry Gadon made the call as they seek to file two separate impeachment complaints against Sereno.

Sereno is accused of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution for allegedly granting allowances and other perks to herself and her staff in foreign trips abroad; preventing lower court justices from issuing warrants of arrest against Senator Leila de Lima on drug related charges; and acquiring a P9 million bulletproof luxury car, among others.

“I believe in the strength of the complaint because the witnesses of her impeachable offenses are the Supreme Court justices themselves,” Jacinto Paras, who serves as one of the legal counsels of VACC, said on Wednesday.

An impeachment complaint cannot be considered verified, meaning filed before the House of Representatives, without an endorser from the ranks of the House.

VACC and the rest of those seeking Sereno’s impeachment have yet to find endorsers for their impeachment complaints.

Jimenez, however, downplayed the role of an endorser.

“Yes, having an endorser is part of the process, but still, isn’t it enough that we are taking courage against the Chief Justice? Whether we get an endorsement or not, I don’t care,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez, however, quickly made a turnaround and admitted that an endorsement was necessary for their impeachment complaint to prosper.

“Of course, we expect the lawmakers to take a look on the merits of this case and make the necessary endorsement,” Jimenez added. </s> Philippine Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has been ousted by the Supreme Court.

The court issued a ruling on May 11 declaring Sereno disqualified to head the court for “lack of integrity, honesty and probity.”

Eight justices voted to grant the petition for quo warranto initiated by the Executive Branch through Solicitor General Jose Calida.

Six justices voted against the decision.

“The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the law,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said in a statement.

“The High Court has spoken. Let us respect its decision granting the quo warranto petition as the proper remedy and the quo warranto petition ruling against Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno,” he said.

Roque, a lawyer, added that the Supreme Court is “duty-bound to uphold the Constitution.”

In a separate statement, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said the Supreme Court in issuing such ruling was “only performing its constitutional duty of interpreting the provisions of the Constitution and rendering a decision on cases properly brought before it.”

Panelo explained that quo warranto and impeachment are two different legal modes of removing public officers, noting that the latter removes qualified impeachable officers while the former ousts unqualified public officials.

Sereno was appointed to the post by President Benigno Aquino 3rd, after Chief Justice Renato Corona was ousted by the Senate impeachment court in 2012 for his failure to fully disclose his wealth.

The decision, penned by Associate Justice Noel Tijam, declared Sereno “guilty of unlawfully holding and exercising the Office of the Chief Justice.”

“The position of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is declared vacant and the Judicial and Bar Council is directed to commence the application and nomination process,” it said.

The decision was to be executed immediately, “without need of further action from the Court.”

Moreover, Sereno was ordered to show cause within 10 days why she should not be sanctioned for violating the Code of Professional Responsibility and the Code of Judicial Conduct “for transgressing the sub judice (gag) rule and for casting aspersions and ill motives to the Members of the Supreme Court.”

Sereno, a former law professor at the University of the Philippines, became only the second chief justice to be kicked out of office.

Sereno, 57, was the youngest to be named to the Supreme Court and the first woman to lead the judiciary.

“I am a victim today,” she told reporters in a news conference. “But I am just one thousands upon thousands whose lives have been snuffed out, who continue to remain in detentions, who have been unfairly accused, unfairly victimized by the very powerful forces of society that must be exposed for what they are.”

The ousted chief magistrate claimed a “moral victory,” noting that she would have won, 6-2, if six justices she had accused of bias against her had inhibited.

Sereno was referring to Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Noel Tijam, Francis Jardeleza, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, and Samuel Martires, who voted in favor of the petition to oust her along with Associate Justices Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo.

The dissenters were Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Mariano del Castillo, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Marvic Leonen and Benjamin Caguioa.

The high court ruled that Sereno’s appointment as chief justice was void from the beginning for her failure to file the required number of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) when she applied for the post.

Sereno had argued that she could only be removed through impeachment under the 1987 Constitution.

Calida lauded the high court for its decision, calling it a “clear exercise of judicial independence even against the highest official of the judiciary.” </s> (UPDATED) The complaint is jointly submitted by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, but it has not yet been endorsed by a lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Will another Supreme Court (SC) chief justice be impeached?

A group whose founder and president is a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, August 2, led the submission of an impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to the House of Representatives.

The complaint, however, has not yet been endorsed by any lawmaker. For an impeachment complaint to be considered officially filed, it must get a lawmaker's endorsement.

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, Incorporated (VPCI) on Wednesday said Sereno should be impeached on the following grounds:
• Culpable violation of the Constitution "for issuing an administrative order creating the new Judiciary Decentralized Office (JDO) and re-opening the Regional Court Administration Office (RCAO) in Western Visayas in the absence of an authority from the court en banc"
• Culpably violating the constitutional provision that "appointive government officials shall not hold another public post as provided for by law, in appointing Atty Solomon Lumba as her Staff Head II"
• Culpably violated the Constitution "for appointing Atty Brenda Jay Mendoza as Philippine Mediation Center Office chief by mere memorandum which was not referred to the court en banc for its consideration"
• Culpably violated the Constitution "for granting to members of her staff travel allowances for foreign travel charged to the Supreme Court funds without court en banc approval"
• Betrayal of public trust "through inexcusable negligence, for sitting on the applications for the posts of Supreme Court Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Attorney which have been vacant for 3 years and 8 months and the two positions for Assistant Court Administrator which have been vacant for 4 years and 6 months"

The VACC was represented by founding chairman and president Dante Jimenez, a Duterte supporter and in-kind campaign contributor. Vanguard, meanwhile, was represented by its president, Eligio Mallari.

"We have enough proof to substantiate all the allegations. The best evidence came from the court itself," said VACC lawyer Manuelito Luna.

A second impeachment complaint from lawyer Larry Gadon, who once represented former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2015, was also supposed to be filed on Wednesday.

Gadon has not filed his complaint against Sereno yet, but said on Wednesday that he spoke to lawmakers about it. He refused to identify those lawmakers.

The president, the vice president, members of the SC, members of constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office via impeachment.

Impeachable offenses include culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of public trust.

If an impeachment complaint gets an endorsement from a legislator, it will then be referred to the House Speaker. He is expected to include it in the House's order of business.

It is then referred to the House committee on justice, which determines if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance, and if there is probable cause to pursue it. A majority vote of justice committee members will be needed to decide there is probable cause.

The committee will then issue a formal resolution to the House plenary. If there is probable cause, the Articles of Impeachment are also submitted via resolution. The complaint will be endorsed to the Senate once it gets a go-signal from at least one-third of House members.

It's the Senate which will try and decide all cases of impeachment via trial. A two-thirds vote from senators is needed to convict an impeachable official.

In May 2012, the Senate found then Chief Justice Renato Corona guilty of betraying public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.

During Corona's impeachment, both chambers of Congress were dominated by allies of then President Benigno Aquino III. The administration then was accused of railroading the impeachment and bribing legislators for the vote.

The Senate and the House are now dominated by legislators who are members of or are allied with Duterte's Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). – Rappler.com </s> The Philippine Supreme Court voted on Friday to remove Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for allegedly failing to file statements of assets and liabilities as required by law.

Court spokesman Theodore Te said eight of 14 justices voted to expel Sereno from the 15-member tribunal. Sereno, the country's first woman chief justice, denies the allegations and did not participate in the vote.

Sereno's position is vacant with immediate effect and the court has ordered the judicial and bar council to begin a new selection process, Te said.

Sereno's spokesman said she would appeal the decision.

In August last year, a case was filed against Sereno calling for her impeachment, alleging that she failed to fully declare her assets and evaded an estimated $40,000 (€33,632) in taxes. Earlier this year, a separate petition to remove her from office was filed in the Supreme Court.

Sereno has denied the allegations and argued that the widely expected ruling was unconstitutional because the country's 1987 charter provides that top officials including justices like her can only be removed by impeachment.

Read more: Investigating Duterte's drug war in Philippines — facts and fiction

Sereno had opposed many of President Rodrigo Duterte's controversial policies such as his declaration of martial law in the southern island of Mindanao and his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs.

Sereno's actions caught the attention and the ire of the Southeast Asian country's firebrand president, who has a track record of going after dissidents. Duterte called Sereno an "enemy" for voting against government proposals.

Prior to her removal, her spokesperson Jojo Lacanilao told DW, President Duterte should answer why Sereno was being victimized. "Why does the presidential office want the chief justice removed? Why do president's allies in Congress want her impeached?"

In the Philippines, the country's highest officials, including the chief justice, can only be removed through impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate.

Impeachment proceedings against Sereno started in the administration-dominated Congress in September last year. In March of this year, Solicitor General Jose Calida filed a petition to remove Sereno in the Supreme Court. A quo warranto is a procedure that is used to challenge the legality of a post held by a public official.

The move was unprecedented in the Philippines and experts say could set a dangerous precedent. The opposition said the ouster of the nation's first woman chief justice left behind a "puppet Supreme Court."

"If the judges could be taken out via quo warranto, what would be left of our democracy?" Mel Sta. Maria, dean of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law, told DW.

"It will destroy the judicial independence and remove checks and balances for the different branches of the government," Maria added.

Abdiel Fajardo, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, believes the quo warranto was used as a shortcut to impeach Sereno. "For the sake of democracy, the Senate should not be deprived of its power to act as an Impeachment Tribunal,” Fajarado told DW.

Sereno is currently on indefinite leave but has remained firm in rejecting calls for her resignation. According to her spokesperson, she is looking forward to defending herself before the Senate impeachment court.

Emerging from the Supreme Court after the decision, Sereno asked hundreds of protesting supporters to organize a movement to defend justice and accountability.

"Let's continue to defend the constitution and fight wrongdoing. Let's continue to spread the message of democracy and reason," she told the crowd.

Tony La Vina, a lawyer and former dean of Ateneo School of Government, dubbed Serneo's removal "a mess."

"It's a political storm and at the heart of it is the independence of the judiciary," La Vina told DW.

Senator Risa Hontiveros called it "a direct stab to the heart of our Constitution," while her Akbayan party said the country was "a heartbeat away" from the death of its democracy.

"After having a lapdog Congress and a seriously wounded Senate, we now have a puppet Supreme Court," the party said in a statement.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, who heads the opposition Liberal party, called Sereno's removal "a mockery of the constitution." </s> The Supreme Court of the Philippines on Friday canceled the appointment of its chief justice, a fierce critic of the country's president, who had described her as an enemy a month ago.

The judges voted 8-6 in favor to approve a government petition that asked Maria Lourdes Sereno's appointment to be canceled, accusing her of failing to disclose all her assets. </s> THE head of a federalism movement allied with the Duterte administration has revealed that two congressmen have agreed to endorse an impeachment complaint prepared against Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno. Lawyer Larry Gadon, president of the PDU30 Constitutional Reform to Federalism and a senatorial candidate in the 2016 national elections, said the impeachment complaint, one of the many allegedly being readied against Sereno, will cite the same impeachable ground that caused the removal of then SC Chief Justice Renato Corona. In a news forum in Quezon City, Gadon, who also acted as one of the legal advisers to former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, revealed the impeachment complaint would be filed within two weeks. “All grounds for her impeachment are based on documents, many of them taken from her office,” Gadon said. He said the ground for impeachment is betrayal of public trust. One of the issues raised against Sereno is her alleged failure to include in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth the huge income she received in connection with the multi-billion peso Piatco case. “This is the same accusation that Chief Justice Corona was found guilty of by the Senate impeachment court,” said Gadon. Gadon also cited alleged irregularities in the High Court’s purchase of a 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser SUV last February at a cost of P5,110,500.00.According to him, the Toyota website placed the cost of such vehicle somewhere from P4.4 million to P4.8 million. Gadon claimed two members of the House of Representatives have agreed to endorse the complaint. Saying he was ready to face SC’s wrath in retaliation for his actions, Gadon said Sereno should also explain the “unwarranted delay” in the resolution of various court petitions filed by Arroyo whom he described as a victim of political persecution under the previous government administration. Among the legal issues raised by Arroyo were Sandiganbayan rulings rejecting her appeal for grant of bail, review of plunder information filed by the Ombudsman and the demurrer to the evidence. After the change of national leadership last year, the High Court issued a decision that cleared Arroyo of plunder charges filed during the Aquino administration and freed her after nearly five years of detention. “How many cases filed by the GMA camp did the SC sat on?” Gadon asked. He also lamented the decision of the High Court to transfer the hearings of suspected Maute terrorists in Cagayan de Oro City, saying the venue could be dangerous to government prosecutors and witnesses due to its proximity from suspected lairs of the terror group.
Two impeachment complaints are filed in the lower house of the Philippine Congress against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.