HOAX: Former chief justice Sereno is disbarred by DOJ

Claim: Former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has allegedly been disbarred by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The claim was made on the blog newzeverywhere.top, on a post titled “Sereno goodbye na rin sa pagka-abogado inalisan ng bisa ng DOJ.” The post was dated July 18.

The content of the blog post was a video from the YouTube channel
Tatay Duterte News. The video included a report from CNN Philippines about the Supreme Court (SC) reprimanding Sereno for statements she made while the quo warranto petition against her was pending before the SC.

On YouTube, the video’s caption reads: “Aalisan na rin si Sereno ng kanyang pagka-abogado ng DOJ dahil sa labis na pagdadaldal nito. Kaya ngayon ay ididisbar na rin sya.”

(Sereno will also be stripped of being a lawyer by the DOJ because she is too talkative. So now she will also be disbarred.)

Rating: FALSE

Facts: The official CNN Philippines report, which is posted on its Facebook page  and website, did not say that Sereno was disbarred. There are no official reports from other news agencies that say that Sereno has been disbarred.

The DOJ does not have the power to disbar lawyers. It is only the SC which can disbar lawyers.

The SC did reprimand Sereno on July 17 for the statements she made while the quo warranto petition against her was pending. The SC, acting on the show cause order in its May 11 decision, merely found Sereno guilty of indirect contempt and warned that a repetition of the same acts will merit a heavier penalty.

The SC threatened to disbar Sereno in its quo warranto decision in May, but decided to impose a lighter sanction. (READ: Supreme Court reprimands Sereno over quo warranto statements)

Videos from the YouTube channel Tatay Duterte News have been included in other hoax articles before, including “latest updates” on complaints against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a claim that Vice President Leni Robredo ordered Sereno to demand the resignation of President Rodrigo Duterte, and a claim that Alan Peter Cayetano resigned as Department of Foreign Affairs secretary. – Vernise L Tantuco/Rappler.com