MikeLigalig.com

By Lilybeth G. Ison

Lawmakers welcomed the appointment of Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as next Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Sereno was "a good choice" to be the next chief magistrate of the country.

"Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is a good choice. A new face yet an insider with a reputation for competence and independence. She will prove to be an effective leader of the Judiciary," said Belmonte in a statement.

"Let us all give our full support for the new Chief Justice," he said.

Eastern Samar Rep.Ben Evardone said he hopes Sereno can "infuse new ideas and fresh start for the Supreme Court."

"All sectors should rally behind her as she embarks on new reform measures and initiatives in the Judiciary," he said.

Quezon City Rep. Winston "Winnie" Castelo, for his part, also said that Sereno was "a wise choice."

"Newly designated Ma. Lourdes Sereno will certainly bring a fresh wind of change to the Judiciary. She will lead the reforms in the Judiciary to rid it of corruption and congestion of cases,"he said.

As the Ideological partner of President Benigno S. Aquino III, the Quezon City solon said Sereno is expected "to bring the reform agenda to the Judiciary."

President Aquino on Friday chose Associate Justice Lourdes Sereno, 52, as the country's 24th Supreme Court Chief Justice, replacing Renato Corona who was convicted by the Senate impeachment court in May.

Sereno is one of the President's three appointees to the SC. The two others are Associate Justices Bienvenido Reyes and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

Before becoming Associate Justice, Sereno was executive director of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), consultant for judicial reform of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and legal counsel of various government agencies including the Office of the President, Office of the Solicitor-General, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), WTO-AFTA Commission, and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

She earned her undergraduate degree from Ateneo de Manila University and her law degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she graduated cum laude and valedictorian.

Sereno thanked the President for appointing her as the country's top magistrate.

"I would like to thank the President for the trust that he has reposed in me," she said.

Sereno vowed reforms in the Judiciary.

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The New Chief Justice

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Joker Arroyo: Is Sereno now infallible like the Pope?

By Cathy C. Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Wednesday, September 5th, 2012

Senator Joker Arroyo hopes Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno will not mistake “God’s will” for infallibility.

A born-again Christian, the 52-year-old Sereno in her first flag ceremony on Monday in the Supreme Court with half of the 14 magistrates in attendance invoked divine intervention in her appointment by President Aquino to replace ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“After the Chief Justice expressed her belief that she was anointed by the Good Lord as chief magistrate, I hope she would not think she has now the infallibility in her judicial opinions,” Arroyo said, tongue-in-cheek.



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“Can you imagine that? When we talk about ex cathedra, that means infallibility, I hope (Sereno)  doesn’t think that way because that’s not good.  That doesn’t allow for dissent,” he warned.

Sereno, whose appointment broke the seniority rule in the tradition-minded third branch of government, also asked colleagues to shun intrigues.

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