CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was ousted Friday, May 11, with the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida granted by the Supreme Court (SC).
This historic move by the SC, who voted 8-6 to oust Sereno, elicited various reactions from netizens on Twitter.
Hashtags #SerenoOuster, #StandWithCJ and #DefendDemocracy are trending as of this writing. Some tweets express support to the ousted Chief Justice.
Twitter user @patriciolicious tweets that the quo warranto is the SC's “last resort” to remove Sereno:
@sarahelago supports CJ Sereno by tweeting this:
@leomardectolero gives emphasis on democracy and resistance in his tweet:
“Whims of a dictator and his coterie of oligarchs” are the words used by @YearoftheMonSy in his tweet:
@clarasees thinks that the removal of the chief justice “is the beginning of the fall of democracy.”
@marcconcepcion calls the decision of the SC “lowest point of democracy” and calls to “uphold and defend” it.
@strifers14 asks the question, “what's next?”:
@kelbyuy tweets “RIP JUDICIAL INTEGRITY. RIP DEMOCRACY. “
@prragasa tweets “democratic institutions are under attack” and “it's time to fight back:”
According to SC Spokesperson Theodore Te, Sereno was ordered to show cause within 10 days from receipt of the order on "why she should not be sanctioned for violating the Code of Professional Responsibility and the Code of Judicial Conduct for transgressing the sub judice rule and for casting aspersions and ill motives to the members of the SC."