“Noynoy named Sereno in place of Corona, thus leapfrogging senior SC justices in a move that many considered was motivated by political and self preservation..”

The start of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) process in choosing nominees for the next Chief Justice should also signal the removal of the aberration created in the judiciary by the vindictive regime of former President Noynoy Aquino.

The Supreme Court last June 19 upheld the ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes through Solicitor General Jose Calida’s quo warranto petition that cited her lack of integrity for failing to submit her statements of assets, liability and networth (SALN) for at least eight years when she was a professor at the University of the Philippines (UP).

The 1987 Constitution requires that the Chief Justice position be filled within 90 days from vacancy. As such, President Rodrigo Duterte is mandated to appoint Sereno’s replacement by September.

Rody is expected to bring back the image of the SC and the judiciary as an independent bastion of democracy which was how it was perceived even during martial law in the extended term of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

The unsullied reputation of SC’s independence was broken only when Noynoy maneuvered the ouster of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona through the impeachment process carried out by his allies who then dominated the House.

Noynoy, from the start of his term, had indicated his dislike for Corona and initially sought his resignation.

Corona was removed from office after the Senate court voted 20-3 in 2012 to convict him in the second impeachment article which was his failure to truthfully declare his SALn.

The Senate vote was later proven to have been influenced by the Palace after Sen. Jinggoy Estrada revealed in a privilege speech that senator judges who voted to convict Corona received P50 million or more in “incentives” in the form of pork barrel.

Estrada said they were informed of the allocation through confidential letters from then Senate President Franklin Drilon, also a key Liberal Party (LP) official, was then Senate finance committee chairman when the letters were issued.

Drilon confirmed the release of the funds, saying it was part of the yearly Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations for senators. Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, however, later confirmed some P1.07 billion was distributed to senators by the Palace through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) or Noynoy’s economic stimulus fund.

Then came Sereno, who was an appointee of Noynoy and the youngest among the Associate Justices.

Noynoy named Sereno in place of Corona, thus leapfrogging senior SC justices in a move that many considered was motivated by political and self preservation.

She would have occupied the post for 18 years or until 2030.

She was ousted after Calida succeeded in his quo warranto petition that indicated Sereno had misled the JBC regarding her application as Associate Justice in the Supreme Court in 2010 due to her failure to meet the 10-year requirement for submission of SALN.

He added Sereno fabricated her 2006 SALN in an attempt to submit one to the JBC during her application for Associate Justice in 2010.

Calida described Sereno’s acts as perjurious which, according to him, proves the Chief Justice’s utter lack of integrity.

Rody, who is a lawyer, is aware of the tradition that was trampled on in Noynoy’s irregular posting of Sereno as head of the judiciary.

The Palace said Rody would likely choose among the senior justices and that no outsider will be considered for the CJ post.

The mistake in the appointment of Sereno was she never won the respect of her colleagues since she was not a litigator and her appointment bypassed more experienced and deserving justices.

Sereno, thus, becomes a historical aberration at the SC for being the first Chief Justice to be removed for lacking qualifications for the post.