By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated August 26, 2012 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) is getting a fresh start with Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno now at the helm, Malacañang said yesterday.
“The appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is a good signal to the Filipinos that a new period for the judiciary has begun. This is the time for change, time for reforms and time to re-establish a very important institution in our republic,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said over radio dzRB after Sereno took her oath at Malacañang.
President Aquino administered the oath to Sereno in the presence of her husband, Mario Jose, and their two children, Maria Sofia and Jose Lorenzo.
Sereno, the 24th chief magistrate of the country, is the first woman to hold the position and the second youngest at 52.
Coloma said Sereno has close to two decades to institute reforms in the judiciary.
“That’s what I was thinking while Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno was taking her oath,” Coloma said, referring to the late president Ramon Magsaysay’s famous quote: “Those who have less in life should have more in law.”
Also present during the oath-taking ceremony were Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Bishop Efraim Tendero, former SC chief justice Artemio Panganiban, and SC Associate Justices Martin Villarama, Mariano del Castillo, Bienvenido Reyes and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.
De Lima congratulated Sereno, giving her a hug and a buss on the cheek after the oath taking and said she would be a “very good” chief justice.
“Her youth, her dynamism, and her brilliance would go a long way in ensuring that we can look forward to a judiciary that would be worthy of the people’s trust,” De Lima said.
After failing in her own bid to become the next SC chief, De Lima said she had come to accept her loss and that she felt no rancor against anyone, even members of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) who disqualified her, citing pending disbarment cases against her.
“That’s really how it is… I guess I did my best in convincing my colleagues in the JBC. It’s just that there was an obstacle… the disqualification so that was one obstacle I did not really anticipate,” De Lima said.
“I have no rancor or whatsoever. I just said my piece when the JBC decided to disqualify me... Well, that was my reaction. I always, you know, I always try to be honest with my feelings. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. But that’s it. After saying my piece, it’s okay, no rancor. No rancor at the moment,” De Lima added.
De Lima said when she hugged Sereno, “I congratulated her and then I said that the Supreme Court will now be in good hands.”
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda earlier said Aquino chose Sereno believing that she could lead the judiciary in carrying out “much-needed reforms.”
With Sereno as chief justice, Lacierda said the judiciary now has a “historic opportunity to restore the people’s confidence in the judicial system.”
The Palace said access to justice was one of the centerpiece advocacies of Sereno and that one of her earlier works in law school included a review of the interrelations between domestic laws and indigenous customary laws.
As executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center, she pursued her interest in policy reform and its impact on governance and the economy.
The Palace said the opinions of Sereno on various cases like the Hacienda Luisita valuation and the travel ban on former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should not cast doubts on her integrity and impartiality.
Sereno voted for a higher valuation for Hacienda Luisita in computing payment for the Cojuangco family, She also voted against the lifting of the travel ban against Arroyo.
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038
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Yesterday's Philippine PCSO Draw Results
For August 25, 2012 Saturday
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Winning numbers in exact order
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Winning numbers in exact order
6/42 National Lottery
16-23-04-02-35-11
Current Jackpot: Php 3,082,773.60
(0)winner
Winning numbers in any order
* = Hot Numbers
** = Very Hot Numbers
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