SUPREME Court Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro on Wednesday, November 29, said Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno created an office without the knowledge of and approval from the court en banc and then tried to give legal basis for her action.
By reviving the Regional Court Administration Office (RCAO) in region 7, which she termed as Judiciary Decentralized Office (JDO) 7, Sereno allegedly "transgressed" the authority of the court en banc, which is constitutionally vested with the administrative supervision of all courts and personnel, and the court administrator, who has the statutory duty to assist the en banc in supervising the courts.
In an unprecedented move, De Castro appeared before the House committee on justice Wednesday to testify in the ongoing impeachment hearing against Sereno.
During the televised proceedings, the associate justice affirmed that she was not being emotional. Neither did she think that her issuance of a memorandum pushing for the recall or amendment of an administrative order issued by Sereno would lead to the filing of an impeachment complaint.
"If i wanted to put down the Chief Justice, I would have filed a complaint against her or done something drastic. I didn't take any action against the Chief Justice," she told the committee.
She asked that it be put on record that it was the first time that she met lawyer Lorenzo Gadon, the complainant against Sereno.
In her memorandum dated December 3, 2012 - a copy of which was read during the impeachment proceedings by SC Administrator Midas Marquez - De Castro assailed the resolution, AM No 12-11-9-SC dated November 27, 2012, because it does not reflect the "vehement objections" of the associate justices to Sereno's Administrative Order (AO) No. 175-2012.
The said AO designated the head for JDO in Region 7 (Central Visayas) based in Cebu City. The JDO was tasked to "take full responsibility over the RCAO in Region 7." RCAO, she said, was reopened without the court en banc's approval.
Marquez told the committee that he was also not aware of the reopening of the RCAO until he was directed to proceed to Cebu City to attend the launching ceremonies at Radisson Blu.
Marquez said he and the justices were asked to pay for their air fares and accommodations, with an assurance of reimbursement.
In her memorandum, De Castro pointed out that "the chief justice does not have authority to create the JDO." Neither can she unilaterally order the revival of the RCAO.
During the impeachment proceedings, De Castro sought to clear the confusion on the JDO and RCAO offices.
"The confusion came about because of the attempt of the Chief Justice to give a legal basis for what she has done. She (Sereno) kept referring to RCAO when she created another office. Actually, there's no RCAO. There's only the JDO head (in AO 175-2012)," De Castro pointed out.
"But she (Sereno) is reviving it (RCAO) using another vehicle, which is the JDO," De Castro added.
Only the court en banc, assisted by the court administrator, has the authority to decide on the reopening of the RCAO 7, De Castro said in her memorandum.
"The AO of the Chief Justice can't deprive: 1) the court en banc of its constitutional duty to exercise administrative supervision over all courts and their personnel; and 2) the Office of the Court Administrator of its statutory duty to assist the Supreme Court in the exercise of said power of administrative supervision," Marquez read De Castro's memorandum.
De Castro questioned the appointment of then Cebu Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Geraldine Faith Econg as head of RCAO 7, "answerable only to the Chief Justice without any guidelines set by the court en banc."
Econg, who was the Project Management Office head and was not part of the court administrator's office, can't be appointed as RCAO 7 head because "it is not part of her duty to assist in the administrative supervision of lower courts."
"At best, she (Econg) may take part in the conduct of a study on whether or not to reopen the (RCAO) office," De Castro's memorandum stated.
The memorandum further stated that RCAO, a failed pilot project funded by the Asian Development Bank in 2008, "can't be reopened or revived on a permanent basis even on a limited scale without first undertaking a study particularly, among many concerns, on why it failed when it was first organized resulting in a black armband rally against RCAO 7 led by Program Management head, then RTC Judge Geraldine Faith Econg."
"RCAO 7 can't be reopened without showing to the court the content and scope of the functions to be transferred from the Office of the Court Administrator to RCAO 7 and the process of decentralization and devolution of functions," De Castro added.
The associate justice said the creation of the JDO wrought havoc on court operations in the region.
There are 146 judges and 1,439 personnel in Region 7. Upon her appointment as JDO head, Econg allegedly ordered the transfer of all their records to her office.
In his complaint against Sereno, Gadon accused the Chief Justice of culpable violation of the Constitution when she falsified the resolution of a Supreme Court on the creation of the JDO. The complaint also accused Sereno of corruption and betrayal of public trust.
Sereno, who assumed office in August 2012, is not represented in the impeachment hearing. Her lawyers asked to be excused during the November 22 hearing after the committee voted 30-4 to approve the move of Rep. Alfredo Garbin to deny the Chief Justice's plea to be represented by her lawyers and to be allowed to cross-examine the witnesses through her lawyers.
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, the committee was still deliberating on whether there is probable cause to impeach Sereno. (SunStar Philippines)