Ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has asked the Supreme Court to quash the show-cause order it earlier issued against her for violating the sub judice rule and casting aspersions on some members of the high court at the height of the controversy arising from the quo warranto proceedings against her.
Sereno also reiterated her plea for the inhibition of Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam and Samuel Martires whom she accused of showing bias and animosity toward her not only in the quo warranto case but also in the impeachment proceedings before the House of Representatives.
Sereno said certain statements attributed to her were made in response to the many attacks against her in the media, including the baseless accusations hurled by Solicitor General Jose Calida.
“No less than the Solicitor General of the Republic himself repeatedly attacked Respondent and publicly discussed the merits of the petition and even made personal attacks on Respondent, not only through the media but also through his personal social media [Twitter] account,” Sereno said.
She said she could not be faulted for explaining her side to the public after her repeated demands that she be given her right to due process were unheeded.
Sereno was prohibited from cross-examining the witnesses who appeared during the impeachment proceedings before the House Committee on Justice, thus denying her the opportunity to expose the falsity of the accusations against her.
She also claimed that she was denied her right to be heard by the proper tribunal, which is the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.
She was also denied the right to be heard by an objective and impartial tribunal when the six justices who manifested actual bias against her continued to participate in the quo warranto case, she said.
“Against this backdrop, Respondent cannot reasonably be expected to keep her silence despite the vigorous assaults on her integrity. It would certainly be unjust to punish Respondent for speaking publicly under the circumstances,” Sereno said.
Sereno said it would be the “height of injustice” if her calls for fairness would be the basis to remove her from the rolls, even as she insisted on the disqualification of the six justices pursuant to her right to be heard by an objective and impartial tribunal.
She said the administrative proceedings against judges and lawyers were instituted precisely to ensure compliance with the canons of professional ethics enshrined in the Code of Professional Responsibility and the New Code of Judicial Conduct.