MANILA – Her seniority makes Teresita Leonardo-de Castro most fit as new Supreme Court chief justice, according to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
President Rodrigo Duterte named de Castro on Saturday as replacement of ousted chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
De Castro was one of those who voted to remove Sereno as top magistrate over unexplained wealth – a historic decision that favored a quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida.
“Justice De Castro is the next most senior” among those in the shortlist submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council, IBP national president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo said in a statement.
“While on the one hand she faces ethical questions considering that she is succeeding a [chief justice] she helped remove, on the other hand we are hoping that this starts a trend that will weigh heavily in favor of seniority as a tradition,” Fajardo said.
The IBP had recommended Associate Justice Antonio Carpio as the next chief justice but Carpio declined the nomination, citing his vote against the removal of Sereno.
De Castro, who was chosen over Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin, will serve for less than two months – she will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Oct. 8.
‘REWARD’
Former Supreme Court associate justice and now Ombudsman Samuel Martires believes de Castro deserves the position.
“I am very, very happy that she was chosen by the President as the country’s First Lady Chief Justice. She deserves it,” Martires said in a statement. “She is a good person; strict but compassionate, a stickler to the rules, a workaholic.”
Representatives Edcel Lagman and Rodolfo Alejano, meanwhile, branded de Castro’s appointment to the high court as a “reward” for the part she played in the ouster of Sereno.
“With the very short period of her incumbency, it is humanly impossible for her to accomplish wonders or anything of substance as chief justice in the Supreme Court,” Lagman said.
“De Castro should have seriously considered declining her nomination and refusing her impending appointment … considering the seriousness of the impeachment complaint against her for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust,” he added.
Alejano described the appointment as “maliwanag na bayad-utang, kawalan ng delicadeza at kagarapalan sa gobyernong ito.”
“Duterte seemed to view government posts as cheap dole-outs to reward his followers and practice the revolving-door policy in selecting de Castro as the new chief justice,” Alejano said./PN
