Warning for Sereno’s replacements

Batas Mauricio

IT is well that Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno decided not to resign as the highest official of the Supreme Court and of the entire judicial branch of government. The nation is entitled to know the truth, or the lack of it, of the accusations against her, as well as her own defenses against those charges.

If she is going to resign now just because of the gravity and seriousness of the charges against her that are now coming from her very own colleagues in the Supreme Court, the impeachment proceedings in Congress will grind to a halt, preventing each one of us from knowing the truth.

The truth must be unveiled here, at all cost, because as the Bible says, the truth shall set us all free. While we can no longer deny that in the Philippines at this point in time many can just as easily twist the truth, those who are facing controversies in one way or another must endeavor to disclose their own version of things, so the people can judge everything for themselves.

In the mass that Sereno’s allies celebrated in UP Diliman, the presence of many former officials of the defunct Noynoy Aquino government was highly noticeable. But, this need not have been a source of wonder for many because it was former President Noynoy who installed Sereno, first as an Associate Justice and, later, as Chief Justice, of the Supreme Court.

Viewing this scenario somehow gave me the creeps, however. The truth is that, many of these officials who served under the Noynoy Aquino government were the very ones that planned, and pursued, and carried out maneuvers fair and foul, so Sereno could be installed as Chief Justice, in replacement of former Chief Justice Renato Corona who was subjected to a rigged impeachment trial presided over by senators who received millions from the government then.

I remembered what the Bible, in its Galatians 6:7 intoned about karma: “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” The message of this verse, as the Word of God, is clear: whatever one did against another would also be done to him or to her. It is clear, whatever happened to Corona is being made to happen again this time, against Sereno.

This is the reason why whoever is aspiring to replace Sereno after her ouster from the Court must learn to have fear in their hearts. Truly, pursuant to God’s Word, the same thing is going to happen to whoever will replace her. As Jesus said, the earth and the sky will fade away, but His Words will remain forever.

Under these circumstances, the best thing to do is to rely on the Word of God in resolving the problems Sereno is now facing. The same advice actually applies to all other leaders as well. We must take heed, first of all, about the admonition in Romans 13:1-2, which mandates that everyone should subject themselves to authorities. Then, secondly, we must obey 1 Timothy 2:1-4 in its mandate for us to pray for our leaders.

Many enemies of Sereno will surely scoff (as usual) at what these verses are saying, but if they are true believers in God, it is right and just that they value  and obey His commands. If Sereno truly erred and the charges against her are true, God Himself will act against her. If the charges are not true, God will act against her accusers.

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com