Former President Benigno Aquino III hit on Friday the decision of the Supreme Court granting the quo warranto petition against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

In a statement, Aquino likened the SC ruling to a green mango forced to be ripened.

"The Supreme Court has said several times: If the law is clear; there's no need for interpretation," said the former president, who appointed Sereno as chief magistrate in 2012.

He said the Constitution is clear an impeachable officer could only be ousted through an impeachment process.

"In my view, whatever will be the explanation of the majority, what we can only see is that it is a forced decision," he said.

"The question now: How sour is that decision which will be fed on us?," Aquino said.

Voting 8-6, the Supreme Court granted the quo warranto petition of the Solicitor General to declare Sereno's appointment in 2012 as null and void due to her failure to submit the required statements of assets, liabilities and net worth. Celerina Monte/DMS