MANILA — The appointment of Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro was based on merits and her being one of the most senior justices of the High Court, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Monday.
“She was appointed purely on the merits, aside from seniority considerations,” the Justice Secretary said in a text message sent to reporters.
The 69-year-old justice bested her two colleagues, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin, both of whom also voted for the ouster of Sereno.
Guevarra, who is also ex-official member of Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) said de Castro is qualified to the top judicial post since she and the other nominees (Peralta and Bersamin) passed the “very careful screening” especially on assessment of their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) that became the basis for Sereno’s ouster.
“Yes, we in JBC made sure that Justice de Castro and the others on our shortlist were qualified for the post, especially in terms of meeting the proven integrity criterion and the SALN requirement,” he said.
“That’s why we devoted two sessions to examine and deliberate on their qualifications and possible disqualifications for the CJ position,” he added.
JBC records showed that de Castro submitted over 20 SALNs to the council.
Also on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte defended his decision to appoint de Castro as the country’s top judge.
“Kung sino yun nauna na pumasok, s’ya yun unang ma-promote and that would go for everybody (Whoever comes first, she will be the first to get the promotion),” Duterte said in a media interview after leading the commemorative rites honoring the national heroes at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City.
“And it will be the same for all justices, not only de Castro. Lahat ‘yan sila (all of them). Unless of course, they refuse or maybe they would opt to retire. It’s the same in the military,” he added.
Duterte, former mayor of Davao City for 23 years before his overwhelming victory in the 2016 presidential polls, explained that he personally does not know de Castro.
“I’m not familiar with any of them actually. Wala ako kakilala na justice na personal (I don’t know personally any justice. Truthfully, I have never talked to anyone there. They are all strangers to me. Remember, hindi naman ako practitioner ng Manila (I’m not a practitioner in Manila),” he said.
De Castro replaces Maria Lourdes Sereno, whose appointment became void after she was ousted via quo warranto proceeding.
She will head the judiciary until October 8 when she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for members of the judiciary.
With the retirement of de Castro, the five most senior justices would be Senior Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Peralta, Bersamin, Mariano C. del Castillo, and Estela M. Perlas Bernabe.
Meanwhile, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) hopes the appointment of de Castro would start a trend that only senior justices of the high tribunal will get picked as top magistrate.
“Seniority means predictability in the appointment of the CJ and helps avoid unhealthy jockeying and wrangling that the new CJ will assert judicial independence and help protect the SC’s progeny — the lawyers, who of late have been under attack,” IBP National President Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo said in a statement.
Fajardo said the IBP would have preferred Carpio taking the mantle as the country’s top magistrate.
“But faced with a vacancy, we nominated Senior Justice Antonio Carpio on account of his seniority in the Court. Unfortunately, he declined the nomination,” the IBP president said. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
