De Castro to people calling her ‘ampalaya’: I forgive them

Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo De Castro

“I forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro paraphrased a verse from the Bible when asked for her reaction on the social media bashing she got after she testified against former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Retired Judge Toribio E. Ilao Jr., a regular member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) representing the private sector, asked De Castro during the public interview about the “ampalaya” [bitter gourd] monicker given to her by angry netizens.

Bashed by netizens

De Castro was bashed after she testified during the House justice committee hearing on Sereno’s impeachment.

Critics said De Castro made it appear she did not like the fact that Sereno, a junior associate justice in 2012, was appointed Chief Justice instead of her, being already one of the senior justices then.

But De Castro said she preferred not to comment on her bashers.

“I will not respond [to their name-callings],” she said.

“They do not know anything. They do not have knowledge. I forgive them. They do not know what they are doing,” she added.

She said her colleagues, as well as the court employees, knew her work ethic.

“If they are the ones who have something negative to say, only then will I be concerned,” she said.

Meanwhile, the JBC tapped the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to assist the body in determining the fitness of those aspiring to be part of the judiciary.

Pillar assessment

Lawyer Maria Milagros N. Fernan-Cayosa, JBC’s regular member representing the IBP, said the two bodies had forged a memorandum of agreement for a pillar assessment program.

In 2017 alone, Cayosa said, 70 JBC personnel processed over 15,000 applications.

The IBP is an organization of lawyers with over 55,000 members, while the JBC is constitutionally mandated to screen applicants for the judiciary and the top Ombudsman positions.

The JBC vets the applicants, comes up with a short list, and submits it to Malacañang for the final selection.

Currently, there are more than 2,000 positions for judges but only half are filled.