De Castro wants SC to be remembered for restoring 'collegiality'

MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Teresita De Castro said she wants the Supreme Court that she leads to be remembered as high court that “restored collegiality.”

The newly-appointed chief justice has only less than two months to lead the SC. She said that she is hoping to leave a “De Castro court” known for restoring “collegiality in the Supreme Court, the court which was able to institute several reforms in the judicial processes.”

Speaking to members of the press on Tuesday, the chief justice also said that high tribunal can achieve reforms if the processes at the judiciary will become “more expeditious, less costly and more accessible to the general public.”

Her appointment as the head magistrate is hounded by controversy. Critics pointed out that her appointment, especially a short one at that, was a “reward” for her hand in the ouster of former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

But she told her critics that they should look at her track record in Philippine government, and should move on from the issue.

De Castro landed in the headlines at the height of the ouster cases against Sereno. She was one of the resource persons at the impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives and her line of questioning during the oral arguments on the quo warranto case seemed to confirm a rift between them.

The tension between the two even spilled over to public events.

But De Castro told the Judicial and Bar Council that she had a good working relationship with Sereno, despite her objections to the latter’s official actions.

The chief justice also stressed that the SC is “working normally.”

“I’m happy that I  have the support of  all my colleagues,” she said, adding that she did not “perceive any untoward feeling” from the SC magistrates.

The chief justice, upon her arrival at the SC on Tuesday morning, was greeted by cheers from employees and jeers from critics.