SC justice claims Sereno ‘attempted’ to circumvent en banc rules

A SUPREME Court justice claimed on Wednesday that Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno “attempted” to circumvent en banc rules six years ago when she issued an administrative order on the launch of an office in Central Visayas (Region 7) without consulting the body.

Testifying at Sereno’s impeachment hearing before the Justice Committee of the House of Representatives, Associate Justice Teresita de Castro said she was “taken aback” when she and her colleagues received an invitation to the reopening of the Regional Court Administration Office in Region 7 (RCAO 7) to be held in Radisson Blu hotel in Cebu City on November 29, 2012.