By Azer Parrocha/PNA
MANILA — Malacañang released on Wednesday the appointment paper of former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin as Supreme Court Chief Justice.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed Bersamin’s appointment paper on Monday (Nov. 26), but was released to the media on Wednesday (Nov. 28).
The Palace also released the appointment paper of former Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang as new Supreme Court Associate Justice on the same day.
This, after Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo confirmed that Bersamin and Carandang were appointed as Chief Justice and Associate Justice, respectively, of the Supreme Court.
“The Palace announces the appointments of Mr. Lucas P. Bersamin and Ms. Rosmari D. Carandang as Chief Justice and Associate Justice, respectively, at the Supreme Court,” Panelo said in a press statement.
“We are confident that CJ Bersamin and AJ Carandang will continue to uphold judicial excellence, assert its independence, and stand firm against erring members of the bench, the bar, and court personnel as they lead the third branch of the government, together with the rest of the Supreme Court Justices, in remaining steadfast in its role as the guardian of the rule of law,” he added.
Panelo said both Bersamin and Carandang belong to what Duterte calls “the best and the brightest,” as Bersamin placed 9th in the 1973 Bar Examinations, while Carandang claimed the same spot in the 1975 Bar Examinations.
Bersamin is presently the most senior Justice in the Supreme Court in terms of services rendered under the Judicial Branch in various capacities, Panelo said.
While Bersamin ranked as the third most senior magistrate of the Supreme Court, he is the most senior justice in terms of service in the courts. He has had 32 years of service in the third branch of government.
He served nearly 17 years as the Presiding Judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, over six years as Associate Justice at the Court of Appeals, and almost 10 years as the 163rd magistrate of the Supreme Court.
Carandang, on the other hand, has been an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals since March 2003. Prior to her stint at the Court of Appeals, she served as the Presiding Judge of the Manila Regional Trial Court.