Department of Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said yesterday that the Supreme Court can oust Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes P. A. Sereno from her post by nullifying her 2012 appointment in a quo warranto case.
“If your appointment is void ab initio (from the beginning), I believe that a petition for quo warranto will suffice to remove you from your position notwithstanding the fact that you are an impeachable official,” Aguirre said.
A quo warranto is a special civil action “against a person who usurps, intrudes into, or unlawfully holds or exercises a public office.”
The rules provide that the Solicitor General or a public prosecutor can file a quo warranto case “when directed by the President…or when upon complaint or otherwise he has good reason to believe that a case…can be established by evidence.”
The rules also provide that “when the Solicitor General commences the action, it may be brought in a Regional Trial Court in the City of Manila, in the Court of Appeals, or in the Supreme Court.”
Sources said that the office of Solicitor General Jose Calida has started preparing a case for quo warranto against Sereno on a complaint-letter sent to his office.
Aguirre’s statement on the removal of Sereno via a quo warranto case rebutted the claim of her camp that she could be removed only through impeachment.
The move to file a quo warranto case against Sereno was described by her spokespersons as “patently unconstitutional” and “mockery of the rule of law.” (Rey G. Panaligan)
