FORMER Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said that Associate Justice Noel Tijam showed his prejudices in the quo warranto petition against her, which the Supreme Court granted, voting 8-6.
Sereno also questioned Tijam’s handling of the petition as member-in-charge, claiming that he had already made prejudgments against her.
In a statement issued yesterday, Sereno noted that the footnotes of Tijam’s 153-page ponencia showed that the decision was already being drafted on March 15, four days before she submitted her comments on the petition.
“These show that Respondent never had a chance from the start. Justice Tijam had condemned Respondent before he heard her,” Sereno said in a statement yesterday.
Sereno also mentioned a phone call by Tijam to the Judicial and Bar Council to inquire about Sereno’s case. But it was not used as an official evidence in the hearings. According to her, judges deciding on a case should not seek evidence — they should merely decide based on the evidence submitted.
“That the ponente made or caused such a call to be made is not allowed and shows prejudice,” Sereno said. /INQUIRER.NET