Bersamin to use lessons from 'testing' 2018 to build on positive 2019
MANILA, Philippines — For the coming year, Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin would be using the lessons the judiciary has experienced in the “testing” year of 2018 to create positive ventures.
“The year that was did test the Supreme Court’s resilience. We encountered truly daunting and consequential challenges,” Bersamin said in his New Year message.
This year saw the changing of leadership in the judiciary twice.
In May, eight justices voted to grant the solicitor general’s quo warranto petition against former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno which resulted in her ouster.
The decision drew criticism from several sectors, as it was said that the judiciary lost its independence when it voted to oust Sereno who was labeled by President Rodrigo Duterte as his enemy.
Duterte appointed Associate Justice Teresita De Castro to head the judiciary, but her stint lasted for less than two months due to her retirement.
After De Castro's retirement, the president picked Bersamin to head the judiciary.
The chief justice said: “Let us take the time to take stock of these challenges, and discern our experiences and learn from them guided by a renewed hope, fresh start and new vision.”
Bersamin said that the New Year brings with it a new start “with a genuine effort for reformation and improvement - for ourselves, our families, our work and our country.”
“We in the Judiciary are obliged to build on the positive undertakings of the past to bring about even more meaningful changes and make our courts more accessible, accountable, efficient, effective and responsive to the needs of the public,” he also said.
In his first flag ceremony as top judge, Bersamin called himself an “accidental chief justice” and asked his colleagues at the tribunal to “accept” and support him.
Bersamin earlier shared his four-point agenda that includes “updating of the ‘Rules of Court,’ purging the Bench of misfits and scalawags, and the adoption of legal clinics to enhance access to justice.”
“We are committed to embark on new initiatives in accordance with our sacred task to promote justice and uphold the rule of law,” the chief justice added.
Bersamin will hang his chief justice robes on October 2019, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
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