SEVERAL justices of the Supreme Court (SC) are raring to confront Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno during their en banc session tomorrow, after the latter allegedly pulled a fast one on her colleagues when she ordered the issuance of a “fake and fraudulent” resolution on the creation of a new judicial office in Visayas.

At least six High Court justices reached by The Manila Times claimed that Sereno ordered the opening of a Regional Court Administration Office (RCAO) in Cebu City without authority from the en banc.

All speaking on condition of anonymity, the magistrates were one in denying that they had ratified Sereno’s order for the revival and reopening of the RCAO.

They also belied claims that they allowed the chief justice to appoint Judge Geraldine Faith Econg to be the officer in charge of the regional office.

Fuming
The six justices were fuming when interviewed by The Times, with one of them saying that the chief magistrate “made a fool out of them.”

“Niloloko niya ang en banc. This resolution never took place. Everything she stated is false. She is a liar,” an associate justice said.

Sereno went to Cebu City on Thursday for the re-launching and re-opening of RCAO. Her visit was made on the assumption that her order had been ratified. As it turned out, her colleagues even junked it.

Another High Court justice who learned about the document sent a text message to The Times saying that Sereno had “no authority from the Court.”

“Watch on Tuesday,” the magistrate said, in reference to the regular en banc session of the court on December 4.

“Humanda siya sa Martes [She must prepare herself on Tuesday],” another magistrate threatened.

One justice confirmed that Sereno will surely be “grilled” over the issue “because she exceeded her authority as chief justice.” The magistrate warned that the faking of the RCAO resolution was a clear violation of the 1987 Constitution and can be a ground for Sereno’s impeachment.

“Walang voting na nangyari. Paano niya maa-appoint si Econg [There was no voting. How can she appoint Econg]?,” the magistrate argued.

Resolution
The two-page resolution, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, was dated November 27, 2012 and signed and promulgated by SC en banc clerk of Court Enriqueta Vidal. The date jibed with the en banc session last week, where Sereno reportedly had a heated argument with some of her colleagues.

The document reads: “Administrative Matter No. 12-11-9-SC [Re: Opening of the Regional Trial Court Administration Office (RCAO) in Region 7].

The Court Resolved to:
[a] RATIFY the action of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno to revive the Regional Court Administration Office in Region 7, with Phase I on: [a] procurement; [b] approval of leave; and [c] payroll administration; and

[b] APPOINT Judge Geraldine Faith A. Econg, Deputy Clerk of Court and Judicial Reform Program Administrator, as Officer-in-charge of RCAO-Region 7, effective immediately and for a period of two [2] months.”

One of the six justices interviewed by The Times alleged that Sereno wanted Econg to be removed as the head of the Project Management Office (PMO) so that she can reinstate to the post former PMO head Evelyn Dumdum who served from the time of chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. up to the time of chief justice Artemio Panganiban.

Panganiban, it was further alleged, was pushing for the re-appointment of Dumdum to the PMO post. The former chief justice is one of Sereno’s advisers.

Dumdum left the PMO during the tenure of chief justice Reynato Puno after it was discovered that she had another job in Thailand, which was disallowed by the SC en banc.

Ignorant
Another magistrate said that the problem with a “junior” justice like Sereno is that she is not fully aware of the job and duties of the chief justice and how the court works.

“She was not a law practitioner. She has never been a judge in her entire life. Ang problema kay Meilou [Sereno’s nickname] ay wala talaga siyang alam! Hindi naman siya makapagtanong kay Tony [Justice Antonio Carpio] kasi nga hinakbangan niya eh dati lang siyang tao ni Tony [The problem with Sereno is that she doesn’t know anything. She could not ask for advice from Tony because she bypassed him when she was just his protégé],” the justice said.

During last Tuesday’s en banc session, the magistrates clarified that what was agreed upon was for Sereno to amend her Administrative Orders reopening RCAO and allowed Econg to study for a period of two months how the RCAO should operate and to later on submit a report to the SC en banc.

During the deliberation, Carpio said that “guidelines must be laid down in the creation of RCAO.”

Justice Presbitero Velasco, on the other hand, suggested that Econg “can only make a study because it is only the Office of the Court Administrator or his deputy” who can be assigned to do the job.

But Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez was put on a “floating status” by Sereno because he was identified with former chief justice Renato Corona.

When Sereno was appointed, Marquez was bypassed in court administration matters.

Congress’ job
The first SC justice interviewed by The Times pointed out that the creation of a new or revival of an old government office is a job for Congress and not the chief justice.

“Any act of the chief justice in terms of creating an office must be submitted with the Court en banc for approval,” the justice said.

By law, Congress must enact the creation of a new government unit because it would involve the appropriation of funds.

Mental test
Based on an 11-page Psychiatric and Psychological Report submitted to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) by a group of two medical psychiatrists and two psychologists prior to her appointment, it was learned that Sereno has the tendency to make decisions based on her “mood.”

“She projects a happy mood but has depressive markers too. There is a strong tendency to make decisions based on current mood thus, outcome is highly subjective and self-righteous,” the report said.

Sereno reportedly got a low grade of four in the mental test.

On the first page of the report, it was explained that all of the candidates who applied for the position of chief justice shall be graded under the “Five Point Numerical Rating System.” A grade of 1 shall be considered as the highest or most superior, 3 shall be the median and 5 shall be the lowest or a failing mark.

Sereno was interviewed on July 18, 2012, but despite her low mark, the JBC included her in the shortlist of nominees after she got six votes.

Under the existing policy of the JBC, an applicant to any position in the judiciary who garnered a grade of 4 will no longer be recommended. A candidate who got a grade of 5 shall automatically be rejected for being “mentally disturbed.”