Sereno: Justices united despite differences in opinion

MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno laughed off rumors that she has a rift with Associate Justice Antonio Carpio over the appointment of the chief justice staff head.

“Everyone is united. Everything is working well,” Sereno said yesterday when asked about the issue.

Sereno added that the justices of the Supreme Court (SC), despite differences in opinion in the cases they handle, are united in pursuing reforms in the judiciary.

Carpio, in a letter to Sereno last month, questioned the appointment of Solomon Lumba to the SC, saying it was in violation of the constitutional prohibition on dual positions in government.

When appointed as judicial staff head by Sereno last September, Lumba was still a professor and secretary of the University of Philippines College of Law, which is under the executive department.

Lumba resigned from UP Law last month to serve full time in Sereno’s office.

“We have to assure our people that regardless of the fact that we are people with different ways of looking at things, we are united in our desire to serve our country,” she said in a speech at the groundbreaking of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines tower in Pasig City.

Sereno said justices have silently laid down the grounds for reforms in the SC.

“We have done it quietly, outside the eye of the public glare. They are being done steadily; capacities for reform, for greater efficiency, for meeting deadlines, for setting standards,” she said.

Sereno admitted that the “building blocks of reform” must be “set up patiently brick by brick.”