With Sereno’s no-interview policy, other SC units to provide info

Supreme Court Justice Lourdes Sereno. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–While Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno declined media interviews, she assured that there will be units of the Supreme Court that will still provide the media and the general public of any information about the court.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Sereno said “I am meeting in the next few day the various units of the Supreme Court that will engage with media and the general public in providing information from the Court.”

“We will seek ways on how to best respond to the needs of media for accurate and timely information,” Sereno said.

However, the newly appointed Chief Justice declined all request for media interviews.

She said a justice should be heard only thru the decisions they write.

She explained that accepting media interviews would require time and effort for her and her staff in coming up with an agreement with legitimate media personalities about the length and scope of the interviews, scheduling and other operational matters.

“To reach an agreement on the matter would require devoting considerable time from me and my staff and would distract me from paying attention to the more fundamental and urgent problems besetting the judiciary,” Sereno said.

She added that the Judiciary is not a political branch of government.

“Its role is unique among all the public institutions. It is constitutionally designed to be deliberate, accurate, sober and carefully balanced before arriving at its decisions and in the presentation of such decisions.”

“The Supreme Court will act with due speed in discharging its role, but the outcome of all of its actions must be clear, categorical and not easily given to change. It must thus exert efforts to minimize susceptibility to misinterpretation,” Sereno said adding that for the high court to return to its golden days, “then the Chief Justice must respectfully decline all these well-meaning request for interview.”