Sereno is new SC chief justice

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III has appointed Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda announced that President Aquino has "decided to appoint Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Punzalan Aranal-Sereno as the 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court."

Sereno is the first female chief justice of the country and with the mandatory retirement age of 70 at the judiciary, the 52-year-old will be the country's top judge until 2030. Sereno is the first appointee of President Aquino to the high court.

"The President is confident that Chief Justice Sereno will lead the judiciary in undertaking much-needed reforms. We believe the Judicial Branch of government has a historic opportunity to restore our people’s confidence in the judicial system," Lacierda added.

In appointing Sereno, Aquino bypassed Justice Antonio Carpio and three other senior justices of the SC that were included in the shortlist submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council.

The appointment of Sereno came as Malacañang opened its gates for the public viewing of the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.

"In the midst of this period of deep mourning for the loss of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, the President is cognizant of his constitutional duty to appoint the next Chief Justice of the Philippines," Lacierda explained.

Sereno was appointed to the Court in August 2010 as associate justice, which was left vacant when then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Corona as chief justice despite opposition from various sectors. Critics claimed that Corona’s designation by the outgoing president was a midnight appointment.

Sereno's dissenting opinion on the SC’s order allowing Arroyo to leave the country for medical treatment abroad last year pending the poll fraud charges filed against the former President was cited as information in the impeachment of Corona.

The prosecution in the impeachment trial had attempted to bring Sereno to the witness stand, but the impeachment court declined the request.

Sereno's JBC interview

Sereno finished a degree in economics at the Ateneo de Manila University before graduating valedictorian from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1984.

In her interview before the JBC, Sereno said that appointing someone who is unfamiliar with the court is problematic since the inner workings of the court are specialized.

"It's like appointing a civilian to lead a war," she said, adding that reforms in the SC can come from within.

Being the youngest justice of the SC, Sereno was asked about the possibility of burning out once she gets appointed as chief justice, since she will have to spend 18 years in the court before retiring.

"I was born like this, passionate in life," she said, adding that her energy comes from God.

Asked about her value system, Sereno presented a seven-point guideline which she follows in the conduct of her work as a judge.

These include avoiding conflicts of interest, making people see that she is not corrupt, working hard and building a reputation that she tells the truth.

"People need to believe in the judges," she said.

Furthermore, she said she believes she is no longer keeping her oath when she is no longer hurt by injustice.

She added that she also prevents herself from grantng favors to family members through her position.

Lastly, she said God is her source of inspiration for her job.

"The moment I lose dependence on the source of my strength, I become weak," Sereno said.

Asked on what she would do in a case where her conscience clashes with the law, she said the situation is unlikely.

"When we try to render justice, we are also trying to replicate, mimic, copy the work of God," she said.

At 38, Sereno worked as legal counselor of the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body Secretariat om Geneva. A year later, she was chosen as the only female member of the Preparatory Commission on the Constitutional Reform where she served as chair of the steering committee.

She is married to Mario Jose E. Sereno and has two children, Maria Sophia and Jose Lorenzo. - Angelo Gutierrez, Dennis Carcamo, Cheryl M. Arcibal, and Jovan Cerda