MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) is getting a fresh start with Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno now at the helm, Malacañang said yesterday.
“The appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is a good signal to the Filipinos that a new period for the judiciary has begun. This is the time for change, time for reforms and time to re-establish a very important institution in our republic,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said over radio dzRB after Sereno took her oath at Malacañang.
President Aquino administered the oath to Sereno in the presence of her husband, Mario Jose, and their two children, Maria Sofia and Jose Lorenzo.
Sereno, the 24th chief magistrate of the country, is the first woman to hold the position and the second youngest at 52.
Coloma said Sereno has close to two decades to institute reforms in the judiciary.
“That’s what I was thinking while Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno was taking her oath,” Coloma said, referring to the late president Ramon Magsaysay’s famous quote: “Those who have less in life should have more in law.”
Also present during the oath-taking ceremony were Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Bishop Efraim Tendero, former SC chief justice Artemio Panganiban, and SC Associate Justices Martin Villarama, Mariano del Castillo, Bienvenido Reyes and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.
De Lima congratulated Sereno, giving her a hug and a buss on the cheek after the oath taking and said she would be a “very good” chief justice.
“Her youth, her dynamism, and her brilliance would go a long way in ensuring that we can look forward to a judiciary that would be worthy of the people’s trust,” De Lima said.
After failing in her own bid to become the next SC chief, De Lima said she had come to accept her loss and that she felt no rancor against anyone, even members of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) who disqualified her, citing pending disbarment cases against her.
“That’s really how it is… I guess I did my best in convincing my colleagues in the JBC. It’s just that there was an obstacle… the disqualification so that was one obstacle I did not really anticipate,” De Lima said.
“I have no rancor or whatsoever. I just said my piece when the JBC decided to disqualify me... Well, that was my reaction. I always, you know, I always try to be honest with my feelings. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. But that’s it. After saying my piece, it’s okay, no rancor. No rancor at the moment,” De Lima added.
De Lima said when she hugged Sereno, “I congratulated her and then I said that the Supreme Court will now be in good hands.”
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda earlier said Aquino chose Sereno believing that she could lead the judiciary in carrying out “much-needed reforms.”
With Sereno as chief justice, Lacierda said the judiciary now has a “historic opportunity to restore the people’s confidence in the judicial system.”
The Palace said access to justice was one of the centerpiece advocacies of Sereno and that one of her earlier works in law school included a review of the interrelations between domestic laws and indigenous customary laws.
As executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center, she pursued her interest in policy reform and its impact on governance and the economy.
The Palace said the opinions of Sereno on various cases like the Hacienda Luisita valuation and the travel ban on former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should not cast doubts on her integrity and impartiality.
Sereno voted for a higher valuation for Hacienda Luisita in computing payment for the Cojuangco family, She also voted against the lifting of the travel ban against Arroyo.
Quick justice
Administration allies urged Sereno yesterday to speed up the delivery of justice, particularly in the provinces.
They made the appeal as they lauded Aquino’s choice of Sereno.
“The President’s decision is a welcome development. Chief Justice Sereno will infuse new ideas into the judiciary. All sectors should rally behind her as she embarks on new reform measures and initiatives,” Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said.
He said the new chief magistrate should introduce measures to speed up the resolution of cases pending in various courts throughout the country.
“It is not uncommon to hear of people resorting to unlawful means to get justice because cases gather dust in courts,” he said.
He said information received by the House appropriations committee from the Supreme Court shows that the number of cases pending in courts has been increasing, instead of decreasing.
He added that, for instance, cases that regional trial courts had to resolve increased to 388,000 in 2011 from about 370,000 in 2010.
The data do not speak well of how the judiciary led by the SC delivers justice, he said.
Echoing Evardone’s appeal, Rep. Teodorico Haresco urged Sereno to immediately fill up court vacancies, since many courts in the provinces do not have judges.
Last year, he said Congress gave the SC funds for the hiring of additional judges and other court personnel.
He said such funds should have been used for their intended purpose.
“She should shake up the judicial system with innovations. She has the youth intellect and passion to do it,” he said.
Another administration ally, Winston Castelo of Quezon City, said the appointment of Sereno “will certainly bring a fresh wind of change to the judiciary.”
He said the new chief justice “should rid the judiciary of corruption and congestion of cases.”
Earlier, in an official statement released by the House, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Sereno “is a good choice. A new face, yet an insider with a reputation for competence and independence. She will prove to be an effective leader of the judiciary.”
“Let us all give our full support for the new Chief Justice,” he said.
For his part, Rep. Raymond Palatino of the party-list group Kabataan expressed fears that Sereno’s appointment would make the SC an “Aquino court.”
He said the new chief justice voted in favor of the Cojuangco-Aquino family that owns Hacienda Luisita.
“She wanted to give them higher compensation. This is disturbing, as early on in her career, it was already apparent whose side she is vouching for,” he said.
“We have seen how former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo maneuvered the appointment of justices in the high court to serve her own interests. Now it is Aquino who’s playing the game,” he said.
However, Palatino added that it was up to Sereno to prove that she and the Supreme Court can be independent and that she is not beholden to anyone. – With Jess Diaz, Sandy Araneta