Now that Pro-Marcos Teresita de Castro is the Supreme Court chief justice, the yellow officials and their supporters can only hope for divine intervention. That if their wishes are favored by the higher-ups. However, de Castro only has less than two months to strengthen her predecessor’s system since she retires on October 8. She explains to the Judicial and Bar Council that her short-term would not get in the way of her effectiveness as chief magistrate. Can she possibly balance the biases against Bongbong Marcos that prolong his electoral protest against the questionable Vice President Leni Robredo?
Youtube video by Innovation Philippines
[VIDEO]: President Rodrigo Duterte appoints Justice Teresita Leonardo De Castro as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
A Lot to Accomplish in a Couple of Months
Tenure has always been respected by the Supreme Court as the institution’s culture. The appointment of the junior justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as the chief justice did not surprisingly cause issues despite overpassing the more senior contenders. De Castro accepted Sereno’s Presidential appointment at the time of ex-Pnoy. She said that there’s nothing she can do about it. This time, she’s confident of all the years she has worked to be able to accomplish much within the 2 months that she’ll have.
Very Qualified as Supreme Court Head
De Castro has been working in government service for 45 years now. She has only started out then with clerical work for the High Court and then rising through the ranks. With the Supreme Court, she has served for already 11 years. She also has experience serving at the Department of Justice as well as being the presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan.
Project Takeover
De Castro is now carrying on the work of digitization started on by the former CJ Sereno. The Enterprise Information Systems Plan has always been Sereno’s pet project and now De Castro is continuing this. This is a joint endeavor by the Supreme Court and the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office(PCDSPO). The project covers the country’s executive issuances, laws, and jurisprudence. Once completed, the records will be publicly available through the Official Gazette and the Supreme Court Library.
Majority Approval
De Castro have the most approval within the judiciary among those shortlisted for the role. Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin were the other people who were shortlisted. The only sentiments against De Castro would be the unnecessary expense of her appointment. She would have a bigger compensation as chief justice as well as an enhanced retirement package for only completing 2 months of service. That can be a challenge for her to do what she has to do in a very short time.
The SolGen Approved of the Appointment
Quoting Solicitor General Jose Calida, “We are elated because her legal brilliance, competence, fairness, and integrity ensure that justice will be well-served during her tenure.” The solicitor general certainly believes that De Castro truly deserves this appointment. Calida was instrumental in the removal of Sereno through his quo warranto petition that confirms that the former President’s appointee was not qualified for the job as voted by the majority of her fellow magistrates. De Castro can only work for the benefit of the public as per the mandate of the current President. That should be very alarming for the opposition right now.
‘
