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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-7/sereno-on-ata.webp" alt="Lourdes Sereno" />
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(Sham Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno)
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In an online stunt, Sereno, along with harpies of the same species Commission on Human Rights chairperson Etta Rosales and former Social Welfare secretary Dinky Soliman, chorused that the recently enacted law constitutes suppression of rights and is a cover for a stealthy imposition of martial law.


Sereno led a prayer where she narrated how victims of martial law abuses came forward during her stint as the top magistrate seeking justice, and she sought the divine to end the suffering, which according to her continuously afflicts Filipinos.


The real scourge inflicted on Filipinos was the fraud that Sereno brought to the SC that resulted to her being kicked out of the Tribunal by her peers who favored the quo warranto petition of Solicitor General Jose Calida.


In extremely humiliating circumstances, Sereno was proven to have failed, on multiple occasions, to file her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), which are key requirements for appointment to positions of public officials


In defending herself, Sereno did the unthinkable for a head of the judiciary by trying to squeeze her way out of trouble through an alibi.


She said in a memorandum to the SC regarding the quo warranto petition against her that the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the body which vets nominees for vacant positions in the judiciary, did not consider SALN as "evidence of integrity" for aspirants for the SC.


Sereno said, from the time of its creation in 1987 and for more than 20 years thereafter, the JBC did not require applicants for positions in the judiciary to submit their SALN.


It was a futile attempt to rebut Calida's main argument that she was not qualified to even become a member of the High Court, much more a Chief Justice for her failure to religiously file her SALN.


Her reply to Calida was that the submission of SALN was simply among the additional documents which the JBC had required of applicants for the position of Chief Justice.


Sereno added that no member of the JBC objected to her inclusion in the shortlist submitted to Malacañang, despite having had 11 chances to object to her candidacy for the SC's top post.


It was a rationalization hard to imagine as coming from a Chief Justice since the intent of the annual requirement on SALN submission is to put public officials and workers on notice regarding their accountability.


In the Ombudsman, Fact-Finding and Intelligence Bureau vs Valeroso (GR 167828, 2 April 2007), the tribunal said the law mandating full disclosure of wealth in the SALN seeks to prevent the evil of unlawfully acquiring wealth, and "is aimed particularly at curtailing and minimizing the opportunities for official corruption and maintaining a standard of honesty in the public service."


"Unexplained matter normally results from the nondisclosure or concealment of vital facts. SALN, which all public officials and employees are mandated to file, is the means to achieve the policy of accountability of all public officers and employees in the government. By the SALN, the public are able to monitor movement in the fortune of a public official; it is a valid check-and-balance mechanism to verify undisclosed properties and wealth."


Still, Sereno argued in her memorandum that the JBC found her as "a person of proven integrity" with her inclusion in the Chief Justice shortlist.


Of course, the chain of events at the time when she was appointed was polarized, starting with the ouster of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona in a campaign led by the vindictive President Noynoy Aquino.


Noynoy, since assuming his post, made known publicly his demand for Corona to vacate his position. Sereno was a perfect replacement since, at 52, when appointed head of the SC, she would have held the post for 18 years until the mandatory retirement age of 70.


Of course, that was until Calida came and proved that she failed the yardstick of integrity.



Sources: 

<ol class="article-sources">
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Rock bottom credibility, <a href="https://tribune.net.ph/" class="news_link" title="Source" target="_blank">The Daily Tribute</a> Commentary, July 7, 2020
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<li>
Wikipedia
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</ol>



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