Aquino keen on new Chief Justice in Sereno mold—Palace

Edwin Lacierda INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Chief Justice that President Benigno Aquino III is looking for is in the mold of Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, his spokesperson said Tuesday.

Edwin Lacierda said the President had directed his legal advisers to list possible replacements for Chief Justice Renato Corona, whose impeachment trial is to start in the Senate in January.

“We’re just preparing for a contingency,” he said at Tuesday’s news briefing, referring to Corona’s possible conviction.

The list is only for the President’s appreciation, Lacierda said. “He is not a lawyer; he needs to rely on his legal team.”

Lacierda said Mr. Aquino “needs someone of the likes of Maylou Sereno” who, he said, was “not known to the President.”

He said the President would “look into the qualifications” of those listed to determine “if there are people who are worthy to be members of the Supreme Court, making sure that they are men and women of probity, integrity and independence.”

Asked if the President would consider a nonmember of the high court for the post of Chief Justice, he said Mr. Aquino “has mentioned that he is open to an outsider.”

Only three of the 15 magistrates of the high court are appointees of Mr. Aquino—Sereno, Bienvenido Reyes and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

Sereno was among those who dissented from the majority decision in November granting a temporary restraining order on the travel ban on former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

She has since been quoted by Malacañang in defending the administration’s position against allowing Arroyo to travel abroad.

Independent JBC

Lacierda stressed that the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), which is mandated by the Constitution to screen nominees to the judiciary, was not convening for the possible replacement of the Chief Justice.

“Let me be clear. The JBC is independent from the executive branch in terms of their workings,” he said, adding:

“The President did not instruct the JBC. The President instructed his legal advisers in case there will be a removal of the Chief Justice, to look for a Chief Justice. Let me clarify: There is still no short list yet.”