Duterte urged to choose next chief justice

MANILA, Philippines — Justices of the Supreme Court (SC) are hoping President Duterte would respect seniority in the judiciary in case Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is ousted through impeachment.

Two magistrates shared the opinion that Duterte should appoint a senior justice instead of an outsider as the next SC chief if he really wants to “correct the mistakes” of the previous administration.

“We respect seniority in the judiciary, and I think the President is aware of that,” one of them told The STAR yesterday.

The insider, who requested anonymity due to lack of authority to speak for the high court, cited the trend in Duterte’s appointments so far in the judiciary where he has been promoting insiders to the SC, particularly senior magistrates in appellate courts.

Among Duterte’s appointees in the high tribunal were Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. and Sandiganbayan Senior Justice Samuel Martires.

“Appointment of seniors in top positions has always been the practice in the judiciary, but this was sadly ignored in the recent past,” the magistrate lamented.

Sereno was a junior justice when she was appointed SC chief by former president Benigno Aquino III in 2012, bypassing several senior justices – including Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio – and taking away their chances for promotion with her 18-year tenure.

The other insider agreed, saying the appointment of a senior magistrate to the top SC post could actually “stabilize” the high court.

“It can bring back order to the Court. The chief justice should have ascendancy over the other justices to be an effective head of the department,” the source stressed.

Two justices are reportedly being eyed as witnesses in the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon.

The House of Representatives committee on justice has found the complaint sufficient in form and substance. It is set to start hearing the charges on Nov. 20 to determine existence of probable cause and decide whether to transmit the case to the Senate for trial.

Gadon’s complaint accused Sereno of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.

The grounds included the alleged misdeclaration in her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth by supposedly hiding her P30-million earning as government counsel in the arbitration case involving the expropriation of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

The complaint also cited her supposed extravagant spending of judicial funds by purchasing a P5-million Toyota Land Cruiser and traveling on first-class flights and hotels.

It also included Sereno’s order in 2012 to reopen a regional constitutional administrative office (RCAO) in Cebu without the collegial approval of the Court, which was later revoked by the SC.  

Lastly, Gadon’s complaint cited the Chief Justice’s alleged inaction on the applications for survivorship benefits of spouses of justices and judges and also on filling of vacancies in key posts in the judiciary allegedly to wait for members of her staff to qualify. 

One of the applicants for survivorship benefits, 94-year-old Dolores Colayco, widow of a Court of Appeals justice, passed away last month without receiving her pension.

The application she filed last year reportedly stayed with Sereno’s office for about 10 months before it was approved by the full court only last Oct. 10 after she died.