De Castro accepts nomination for Chief Justice

CIVIL WAR Teresita Leonardo-De Castro (left) and Maria Lourdes Sereno —GRIG MONTEGRANDE

Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo De Castro has accepted the nomination for the position of Chief Justice.

According to a court insider, De Castro accepted the automatic nomination to the position vacated by ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

As one of the five most senior justices of the high court, De Castro was automatically nominated to the judiciary’s top post.

Retired Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Raoul Victorino had also nominated her and the rest of the SC Associate Justices to the position.

De Castro was appointed by former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as SC Associate Justice in 2007. Prior to the appointment, she was the Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan.

To recall, a shouting match escalated between De Castro and Sereno during the oral arguments on the ouster petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida.

De Castro was among the eight justices who voted in favor of Calida’s quo warranto petition that removed Sereno as SC chief. /kga