Getsy Tiglao By Getsy Tiglao   Dear Fil-Ams and Fil-Canadians, I’m sure by now you must have heard about the ouster of Ma. Lourdes Aranal Sereno from the Supreme Court. The majority of Filipinos living here are very happy this finally happened for her continued presence was destroying the good name of the country’s highest court. Sereno was illegally occupying the position of justice at the SC. She was not qualified. She did not file her earnings documents, a legal requirement for all public officials. She violated so many other laws that she actually had a pending impeachment case, before she was kicked out via this brilliant quo warranto case. Many of you are probably confused as to what actually happened and what it means, as I believe your source of news are the Western media (extremely biased against the Philippines) and the online version of the some of the yellow newspapers here. Always read these things with large pinches of salt. For instance, I was shocked when trawling through the Net to see this news item from the Guardian newspaper, “Fear for democracy after top Philippine judge and government critic removed.” What crazy s---t. The country’s problem actually is that it has too much democracy! Don’t believe this piece which wasn’t even written by a correspondent here. The British paper just lazily published a wire report from an American news agency whose pieces on the Philippines are written by local stringers paid by the piece. Since it fits their worldview that Duterte, with his independent foreign policy, is now an enemy of the Western world, they will run this piece and anything else like it. Media is not neutral, disabuse yourself of this idea. Spinning and slanting, fabrications and distortions, have existed since ink and paper were invented. Thus it behooves one to be alert for these kinds of twisted reports, to look at the bigger picture, and to investigate, by talking to Filipinos who are actually living here. There’s no fear for democracy except in the befuddled minds of the noisy minority, including the whining senators who lost the opportunity for self-aggrandizement and the free publicity that comes with a Senate impeachment trial. Thank goodness Sereno’s impeachment case is now moot and gone. Count among the noisy few those who are still living in the past, who think that people will still support EDSA-type of activities. Filipinos are tired of this 1980s brand of yellow politics; most citizens just want to work and see their country become rich and developed. The Philippines is so free and democratic no one is getting arrested, except the criminals. Everyone, whatever their political persuasion, is free to speak, write, and give their opinion. Heck, even the alleged protector of drug lords Senator Leila de Lima has been regularly speaking out against the Duterte administration — we are so free that I hate it. How is it in the US and Canada? Can criminals facing charges issue statements every day lambasting your governments? No? I didn’t think so. The quo warranto case brought by the Office of the Solicitor General against Sereno was a legitimate and legal proceeding. Sereno failed to file her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth for 11 years. All public officials must do this every year and the penalty for not doing so under the law is clear: you are booted out. Those who say that Sereno as an impeachable official can only be removed via the impeachment process are clutching at straws. Nope, the Constitution and our body of laws are very clear. Impeachment is only one of the means. Quo warranto is a perfectly legal proceeding and the court’s decision in favor of the OSG is a total validation of this move. The Guardian-Associated Press report also said Sereno was a “top Philippine judge.” She wasn’t: She was a mediocre legal academic with no courtroom experience. She just happened to luck out because her powerful college buddy wanted somebody inside the SC to argue for the Hacienda Luisita case. This buddy, former President Benigno Aquino III, even worked for the removal of her predecessor former Chief Justice Renato Corona. The Senate voted to impeach Corona because they said he had incorrectly declared his dollar deposits. Later we learn the senators who voted to impeach him were given P100 million worth of projects each under Aquino’s illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program. Sereno was “de facto” head of SC for six years before it was revealed during the impeachment hearing that she was not qualified for the post, and by virtue of the OSG’s quo warranto petition, the SC declared her appointment null and void. The question now is whether she will be asked to return all the salaries and other emoluments she received while illegally occupying the position. Let’s be clear that this wasn’t just a matter of Sereno’s non-filing of SALNs, although this really did make her ineligible for any position in government (and non-filing is actually an impeachable offense, said one of the justices.) As the cases against her moved forward, Sereno’s dishonesty, her clueless incompetence, and her unprofessionalism quickly became apparent. Sereno used various excuses to explain her failure to meet a legal requirement. She blamed her former employers, weirdly quoted esoteric and irrelevant cases, and bad-mouthed her fellow justices. She opened offices without approval, blocked cases and people she deemed her enemy, she insulted the SC en banc, ordered luxury vehicles for her personal use, contracted pricey consultants, and she padded her resume. She lacked integrity and was not forthcoming, according to the SC justices. This is not the kind of chief justice we want sitting in the court. The Guardian report also claimed that Sereno was a top government critic. No, she wasn’t. That title belongs to Senator Antonio Trillanes. Sereno only started talking and making speeches left and right when it was clear that the impeachment case against her was gaining ground. In her desperation she became a “critic”; a weak one at that. So my dear Fil-Ams and Fil-Canadians, hopefully I have cleared this issue for you somewhat. I know your understanding of political issues in your former homeland is limited but I hope you can trust the Filipinos who are still here and working to make the country reach its full potential. I know you sometimes feel lucky that you are so far away from all the “gulo” that is taking place here. But there’s no tumult and Filipinos who are strongly supportive of the current government are actually very happy at the turn of events. Unqualified Sereno who failed her psych exam is gone. Senate doesn’t get to strut. De Lima is still in jail. The economy just grew 6.8 percent in the first quarter. We are very, very happy. Love to all, from me (the one who refused to leave).