Sereno names UP professor as new SC spokesman

MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has appointed University of the Philippines College of Law Professor Theodore Te as new Supreme Court (SC) spokesman and chief of the Public Information Office (PIO), a source bared yesterday.

The source, a member of the court, told The STAR that the appointment of Te, a former colleague of Sereno, would be announced during the Christmas party of the PIO for the media on Dec. 21.

He will replace acting PIO chief Gleo Guerra, who was appointed by Sereno on a temporary basis when she assumed the top judicial post last August.

Te, a pro bono human rights lawyer of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and a former legal counsel of the UP system, teaches criminal and remedial law subjects in UP.

He is also a close friend of Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, a former dean of the UP College of Law.

“The Chief Justice has the prerogative of appointing the chief of PIO who is co-terminus with her,” explained the source.

Sereno earlier designated Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Viña as a consultant to “strengthen” the court’s PIO.

The appointments were made amid Sereno’s “dignified silence” policy that left to the media the interpretation of court rulings.