SERENO VOWS INDEPENDENCE FROM NOY ADMIN / CONGRESS SEES NEW
CJ KEY TO CHA CHA
[PHOTO -Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.]
MANILA, AUGUST 27, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By Edu Punay - Newly appointed
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has vowed independence from the present
administration.
"Everyone can be assured of independence of the Chief Justice," she told
reporters covering the Supreme Court (SC) in a brief interview yesterday.
Sereno took her oath before President Aquino last Saturday, replacing Renato
Corona who was removed from office last May 29 by the Senate impeachment court.
Certain quarters have expressed concern over her appointment, citing her
earlier opinions perceived to be favorable to Aquino.
Farmers of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) have expressed apprehension that the
SC ruling on the land distribution might be reversed under her watch.
"Sereno's appointment is a trample on the judiciary system. We all know whose
interest she will serve and follow. Certainly it would not be the interest of
the Hacienda Luisita farm workers nor the broad masses," the Unyon ng mga
Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa
Asyenda Luisita said in a statement yesterday.
UMA secretary-general Rodel Mesa said they could only appeal for vigilance:
"We call upon the farm workers' support networks not to be deceived by Mr.
Aquino's SC gender-sensitive hullabaloo. The CJ post is not about male or female
stewardship of the Supreme Court, it is all about competency and independence.
Regardless of gender she or he must also be equipped with moral aptitude to
bestow a just conviction favoring the people's interest."
Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino shared this fear and said that the
appointment would make the SC an "Aquino court."
Malacañang dismissed the allegations that Aquino had appointed Sereno to
protect the interests of his family in HLI as "false" and "speculation."
"I suggest to all the people who are commenting on this, perhaps we can go
back to her decisions. There has been misinformation that she voted a certain
way," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
Malacañang also declined to comment on reports that Sereno scored lowest in
the psychological exam. "It's unconfirmed. That's not an official statement or
not an official release from the JBC so we will not comment anymore," Valte
said.
New CJ to finish 18-year term
Sereno admitted that she intends to finish her term amid calls to limit the
term of the chief justice.
"I assure my countrymen that I will keep my oath of office faithfully to the
end of my term. That is something that they can rely on," she vowed.
During her oral interview last July 27, the Judicial and Bar Council
questioned her age that will give her 20 years in the SC.
At 52, she will be SC chief for 18 years, which means she will outlast the
next two presidents to be elected after Aquino.
Sereno will be the second longest serving chief justice, after pre-war CJ
Cayetano Arellano, who served for 18 years and 10 months.
She is also the second youngest chief magistrate after Manuel Moran, who was
appointed at 51.
According to Sereno, she does not mind staying in the top judicial post that
long: "I won't get burned out because the past 52 years of my life have been
fruitful, exciting."
A younger candidate for the top SC post, Presidential Commission on Good
Government (PCGG) Chairman Andres Bautista proposed that a seven-year term limit
be imposed on SC magistrates similar to term limits of elected officials.
He believes this could make justices in the high court – dubbed as the "gods
of Padre Faura" – "more human and less divine."
"We should have a 7 to 70 rule. There should be a term limit of only 7 years.
Once you reached the age of 70, you have to retire," he told the panel.
Several sectors have supported this proposal.
Allies of the President in Congress, however, argued that the lengthy term of
Sereno would enable her to effectively institute needed reforms in the
judiciary.
Twitter users made fun of Sereno's lengthy stint in the Supreme Court by
enumerating possible events that would occur while she is in office.
Some Twitter users claim the Philippines would reach first-world country
status before Sereno retires.
Some said an elementary student today could acquire his law degree before
Sereno steps down.
The topic #CJpasiSereno (Sereno is still Chief Justice) trended on Twitter
shortly after Sereno's appointment was announced.
SC demoralized?
Sereno's appointment last Friday came as a big surprise to SC members,
including some justices and their staff.
An insider told The STAR that the decision of President Aquino might lead to
demoralization in the judiciary, which puts premium on the tradition of
appointing a senior magistrate as chief justice.
"I am not sure if she can really have that ascendancy over the other
justices, especially the senior ones. Imagine a newcomer in an institution
having control over the older members," the source said.
The JBC had questioned her ascendancy over the other justices considering she
is 12th in terms of seniority and had often been with the dissenting opinion in
big cases.
She defended herself by citing former chief justice Claudio Teehankee as an
example of a justice who earned the respect of his colleagues in the SC despite
consistent dissent to cases favoring Marcos who had appointed most of them.
Sereno said she has already proven her capability of leading a body with more
senior members during her term in the steering committee of the consultative
council on constitutional amendments.
Sereno even admitted that she had "yelled with other justices during
deliberations."
Meanwhile, with the promotion of Sereno as chief justice, the JBC will start
the selection process for the associate justice post that she vacated.
Lawyer Jose Mejia, JBC member from academe, said the President cannot choose
Sereno's replacement from the shortlist submitted for the chief justice post.
"The vacancy and call for application will be published soon," he said in a
text message.
Gov't officials, judges welcome Sereno appointment
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. reiterated his support for Sereno's
appointment and called on all sectors to support her thrusts for reforms. "She
will prove to be an effective leader of the Judiciary," he said.
"As the first female Chief Justice of the Philippines, Sereno's appointment
proves the maturity of our bureaucracy and our society in acknowledging the
capability of Filipino women to be at the highest levels of leadership," Sen.
Loren Legarda said.
"All she (Sereno) should do is to exercise proper leadership," Deputy Speaker
and Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
"The first thing that she should do is to undertake a lot of
confidence-building measures not only before the public but also among the
senior SC associate justices," said Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado, chairman of the
House ethics committee.
"We now have an activist Chief Justice because we have an activist President,
that's why we welcome her appointment. We can now expect that it will no longer
be business as usual in the SC. No more 10-year wait in cases. We should now
expect protection of human rights, the public interest and the Bill of Rights
under Chief Justice Sereno," Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said.
Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco, vice chairman of the House
committee on small business and entrepreneurship development, said Sereno's
strong background in business and economics would help resolve many pending
cases that are technical in nature.
Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona said, "The judicial branch of government
has now the historic opportunity to restore our people's confidence in the
judicial system."
"It is vital that we stand side-by-side with her, keeping an open mind while
being watchful, as she embarks on the daunting task of steering the Supreme
Court towards genuine reforms. Let us respect the choice of the President,
having been made following a transparent and efficient process that included the
public," Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) director
general Joel Villanueva said.
The Philippine Judges Association (PJA) and Negros Occidental officials also
welcomed the new SC chief.
PJA national president and Bacolod Regional Trial Court Judge Franklin
Demonteverde said in a text message to The STAR, "We congratulate CJ Sereno and
we pray that with her at the helm of the SC, the independence of the judiciary
can well be strengthened."
"I am hoping that she will be successful in instituting reforms in the SC,
that she will be a uniting CJ to the divided judiciary," Bacolod Councilor
lawyer Caesar Distrito said. – With Alexis Romero, Paolo
Romero, Christina Mendez, Danny Dangcalan
FROM MANILA STANDARD
Congress sees CJ as key to Cha-cha By Christine F.
Herrera | Posted on August 27, 2012 | 12:01am | 112 views
Congressional leaders on Sunday again pressed for constitutional amendments
after they were rebuffed by President Benigno Aquino III last month.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. used the recent appointment of Chief Justice
Maria Lourdes Sereno as a springboard to revive a bid to amend the economic
provisions of the Constitution, saying those would be needed to avoid gridlock
on legal issues, such as the 40-percent limit on foreign equity.
He also proposed arming the new chief justice with powers to institute
reforms in the Judiciary.
"The President vowed to make a decision in two weeks after Senate President
[Juan Ponce] Enrile and I discussed the Charter change issue with him last
month," Belmonte said.
"We have a new chief justice to replace the one perceived as a stumbling
block to reforms and so it is time to go full blast ahead with the
constitutional amendments to strengthen the economic provisions that would pave
the way for progress," Belmonte said.
"Now is the time to do it."
The Speaker said the new chief justice augured well for the President's plan
to institute reforms in governance.
Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado, meanwhile, filed a resolution seeking to amend a
constitutional provision that grants only one seat to the bicameral Congress in
the Judicial and Bar Council, the body which vets the appointments to the
Supreme Court.
Aumentado's amendment would give formalize the established practice of giving
each chamber a representative on the council.
The practice was recently challenged before the Supreme Court, but the Senate
and the House insisted that the constitutional provision was an oversight by
those who drafted the Constitution.
Belmonte said the Charter revisions would hasten reforms in the entire
economy, not just in the Judiciary, but that Congress would focus only on the
economic provisions of the Constitution to allay fears that the amendments were
being pursued for political or partisan purposes.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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