The eventual dismissal by the Supreme Court of the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida to oust Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno would be an opportunity for concerned justices to show that they are fair, judicious and protective of the Constitution.

This was the tack of Associate Marvic Justice Leonen who singly voted for the outright dismissal of the quo warranto action even as he was prominently involved in compelling Sereno to go on indefinite leave after the ouster plot failed.

With the seven justices who spearheaded the ouster move against Sereno desisting from voluntarily inhibiting themselves despite their manifest dislike, if not aggression, against the Chief Justice, then they can prove their impartiality by voting for the dismissal of the quo warranto petition, which in the first place is baseless, offensive to the Constitution and has expired.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN