Maria Lourdes Sereno | |
|---|---|
 Sereno acting as chief justice | |
| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines | |
| In office August 25, 2012 – May 11, 2018[a] On leave from March 1 – May 9, 2018[b] | |
| Appointed by | Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Renato Corona |
| Succeeded by | Teresita de Castro |
| 169thAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines | |
| In office August 13, 2010 – August 25, 2012 | |
| Appointed by | Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Renato Corona |
| Succeeded by | Marvic Leonen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Maria Lourdes Punzalan Aranal (1960-07-02)July 2, 1960 (age 65) Manila, Philippines |
| Education | Ateneo de Manila University(BA) University of the Philippines Diliman(LLB,MA) University of Michigan(LLM) |
Maria Lourdes "Meilou"Aranal-Sereno (Tagalog:[sɛˈrɛnɔ]; bornMaria Lourdes Punzalan Aranal; July 2, 1960) is a Filipina lawyer and judge who served as de factochief justice of theSupreme Court of the Philippines[3] from 2012 until 2018.
Appointed as anassociate justice byPresidentBenigno Aquino III in August 2010, she became the second youngest person (at the age of 52) to assume the post of chief justice in August 2012. She is considered to be the first woman head of a judicial branch in any Southeast Asian sovereign state.[4]
She was removed from office by way of an 8–6 decision by the Supreme Court over aquo warranto petition, rendering her appointment as chief justice null and void.[1] Sereno had faced criticism from the administration of PresidentRodrigo Duterte for expressing her criticism of hisPhilippine Drug War, and some saw the petition as politically motivated.[5][6][7][8] At the same time she was removed from office, Sereno had also been facing animpeachmenttrial prior to the granting of the petition, but after its granting, such trial becamemoot and was never scheduled.[9]
Sereno was born on July 2, 1960, inManila, to Margarito Aranal ofSiasi, Sulu, and Soledad Punzalan ofBay, Laguna who served as a public school teacher.[10]
Sereno graduatedsalutatorian from Kamuning Elementary School in 1972 and with honors from Quezon City High School in 1976.[11]
A scholarship allowed her to apply at theAteneo de Manila University where she had the options of taking either Political Science or Economics. She opted for theBachelor of Arts inEconomics and graduated in 1980. She finished herBachelor of Laws degree from theCollege of Law at theUniversity of the Philippines Diliman in 1984, graduating ascum laude and classvaledictorian, and took thebar exam that year.[12] She was admitted to the practice of law the following year.
She earned aMaster of Arts ineconomics in 1992 from theUniversity of the Philippines School of Economics ofUP Diliman. Thereafter, she earned aMaster of Laws from theUniversity of Michigan Law School in 1993.[3]
She is an alumna of the UP Portia Sorority.[13]
Sereno started her career as a junior associate of the Sycip Salazar Feliciano and Hernandez law firm.[3]
At the age of 38, she was appointed as legal counselor at theWorld Trade Organization'sAppellate Body Secretariat in Geneva.[14]
She was the only female member of the 1999 Preparatory Commission on Constitutional Reform where she headed the commission’s Steering Committee. In the same year, with Justice Jose Campos, CommissionerHaydee Yorac, and other professors from the UP College of Law, she co-founded Accesslaw, a corporation that provided the first annotated electronic research system in Philippine law.[14]
She also served as legal counsel for various government offices including the Office of the President,Office of the Solicitor General,Manila International Airport Authority, and theDepartment of Trade and Industry. She previously headed the Information and Public Division office of the UP Law Complex. She was also a lecturer at theHague Academy of International Law.[3]
At the time of her appointment to the Supreme Court in 2010, Sereno wasexecutive director of theAsian Institute of Management Policy Center. She was also thepresident of Accesslaw Inc., had taught atUniversity of the Philippines College of Law for 19 years, and served as a consultant for theUnited Nations,World Bank, andUS Agency for International Development.[15]
Sereno served as a co-counsel with Justice Florentino Feliciano on the Fraport case inSingapore, in which the Republic of the Philippines won the case.[16]
In August 2010, Sereno was appointedassociate justice of theSupreme Court of the Philippines, its 169th member and the first appointee to the high court by PresidentBenigno Aquino III. Sereno, the 13th woman appointed as justice of the Supreme Court, was the youngest appointee to the court sinceManuel Moran in 1945 untilMarvic Leonen surpassed her at the age of 49 in 2012.[17]
On August 24, 2012, President Aquino announced his appointment of Sereno as the new chief justice of the Supreme Court, replacingRenato Corona, who was removed from office in May 2012 after being convicted in animpeachment trial.
Sereno voted against several of PresidentRodrigo Duterte's proposals, such as declaring martial law andburying Ferdinand Marcos in a cemetery reserved for national heroes.[18] Sereno also took a stance on Duterte'sPhilippine Drug War when she called fordue process for those included in Duterte's "drug list", a list of people alleged to be involved in the illegal drug trade.[19]
In a televised public speech in April 2018, Duterte addressed Sereno thus: "So I’m putting you on notice that I am now your enemy. And you have to be out of the Supreme Court,"[20] after Sereno accused him of interfering with the case.
On August 30, 2017, at least 25 members of theHouse of Representatives began the impeachment process against then-chief justice Sereno. In additionSolicitor GeneralJose Calida filed aquo warranto petition to invalidate her appointment as chief justice over alleged lack of integrity. Both the impeachment proceedings andquo warranto petition cites Sereno's alleged failure to properly declare herStatement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) and was also responsible for tax misdeclarations and unauthorized expenses. Sereno has questioned the quo warranto petition saying that she could only be legally removed through impeachment.[21]
After an impeachment process against her began, Sereno took an indefinite leave on March 1, 2018, but maintained she will not resign. She returned from leave shortly after the rest of the Supreme Court made a decision on the quo warranto petition. Deciding on thequo warranto petitionen banc the Supreme Court justices voted to remove Sereno from the court on May 11, 2018, by a vote of 8–6.[1]
Sereno filed a motion for consideration but the high court denied with finality Sereno's motion for reconsideration for lack of merit on June 19, 2018, voting 8–6, upholding thequo warranto decision. The ruling also states that no further pleading will be entertained as well as order for immediate entry of judgement.[22] Various members of the opposition, notably Vice PresidentLeni Robredo, senatorRisa Hontiveros, senatorAntonio Trillanes, andAkbayan partylist representative Gio Tingson, condemned the ouster of Sereno.[23][24]
Senior Justice Antonio Carpio assumed the post of chief justice in an acting capacity starting May 14, 2018, following Sereno's removal from office.[25] As a result ofRepublic v. Sereno, Maria Lourdes Sereno is no longer considered the 24th chief justice of the Philippines, as the court ruled that her appointment was never legal but null and voidab initio. Thus, on August 25, 2018, Teresita de Castro was appointed by PresidentRodrigo Duterte as the new andde jure 24th (successor ofRenato Corona) and first female chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.[26]
TheCourt of Tax Appeals in a 45-pageDecision dated May 14, 2024, penned by the 2-memberCourt of Tax Appeals Special Second Division, Justices Lanee Cui-David and Jean Marie Bacorro-Villena, granted Serenos'Petition for review. The tax Court voided theBureau of Internal Revenue ’s P8.8 milliontax assessment (2011 to 2016).[27]
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Following her removal, Sereno continued to be active in public policy and advocacy. She currently serves as the Chairperson of the Legal Advisory and Public Policy Review Commission of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, where she focuses on legal and policy issues affecting the Filipino community.[28]
Sereno is part of the National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution, an organization which has launched the Project Dalisay initiative.[29][30]
Sereno has been a prominent critic of Senate Bill 1979, also known as the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill. She emphasized the importance of basing legislative decisions on facts, particularly when addressing issues affecting vulnerable sectors of society. In a statement, she said:
"Wala po akong reklamo kung may mga iba't ibang stakeholder organizations na puposisyon para o kontra sa isang panukalang batas namin dito. Pero kailangan on the basis of facts, lalo na po pag ganitong klaseng panukalang batas ang pinag-uusapan, na gustong isulong ang child protection para sa isang especially vulnerable na sektor sa ating lipunan."[31]
Sereno also highlighted alternative approaches to reducing teenage pregnancy, citing Singapore's model under its Ministry of Education. She explained:
"Mayroon po bang alternative? Kasi lahat tayo gusto natin bawasan ang teenage pregnancy. Meron po, sa Singapore po, under the Ministry of Education, ang sexuality education nila ay ginawa nilang parang transcendent ang vision ng kabataan. Ibig sabihin, ang bata, tinuruan nilang mangarap ng malayo para ma-achieve ang kanilang mga aspirations sa buhay. And then they are teaching self-control. Ibig sabihin, sinasabi nila, magandang pag-isipan ang plano nyo, mag-restrain kayo and in fact, abstinence is a good standard for Singaporean youth."[32]
Sereno has expressed concerns about international programs promoted by organizations such as UNESCO, UNFPA, and UNICEF, which she believes could hypersexualize children at an early age. She stated:
"It’s an international program being promoted primarily by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), and the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) that will hypersexualize children at a very early age."[33]
Maria Lourdes Sereno is married to Mario Jose E. Sereno ofDavao City. They have two children, Maria Sophia and Jose Lorenzo.[10]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 2010–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court de facto – appointment null and voidab initio 2012–2018 | Succeeded by | |
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