New CJ, great expectations

Many welcomed the appointment of Maria Lourdes Sereno as the new Chief Justice  to succeed the impeached and removed Renato Corona. But many, too, were surprised that senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio was not appointed by the President despite the fact that he showed his moral mettle when he declined the nomination during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to be the next Chief Justice—a midnight appointment contrary to the Constitution.

I surmised that what made it impossible for Carpio to be appointed chief magistrate was his alleged role in the SC’s acquittal of Jason Webb in the Vizconde massacre. Be that as it may, Sereno is a good appointment. She is not only highly qualified but also honest and credible. She  invoked the name of God several times in her public statements.

So far the appointment of Sereno is getting favorable responses from different sectors. They would like to give Sereno the chance to prove her worth and rightly so because she was just appointed. It would not be fair to  start criticizing her this early. We have  yet to see her performance as leader of the Supreme Court.

Her most challenging task  is to restore the public’s trust and confidence in the Supreme Court and the judiciary.

Sereno’s appointment  shows that the President gives a premium to the integrity and credibility of the appointee. The Aquino  administration has some of the most credible and honest personalities in our country.  This  has provided Filipinos a great hope for our nation.

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Last week some Rama family members and I traveled to the south, to Carcar City, to pay our last respects to a close relative, Gerardo Coronado Rama who died in barangay Ocaña. I visited the wake twice, on a Monday and on a Saturday with my cousins.

The Monday trip  started pleasantly until we drove back home and encountered heavy traffic in Carcar City because of a road accident and then congestion in the town of Minglanilla. I was told that traffic congestion in Minglanilla is a daily occurrence. There are many  factors like the narrow highway, the proliferation of tricycles, people crossing the streets and vehicles stopping at  no-stopping areas.

But what shocked me was that there was no aide or policeman to direct  traffic. If there was one, he had nothing to  show for the violations on the road.  I hope the  local government units   take a direct hand in managing the  traffic problems in their localities.

The same problem afflicts the town of Liloan in the north especially  near the church where vendors sell roasted pork and chicken. Traffic slows down basically because many people go down to buy food on the street.  I am hoping  Mayor Duke Frasco can find a better location for these sidewalk vendors.

If local government officials  manage traffic better  it would make trips to the countryside very pleasant and encourage investors to develop the outskirts of the city.  The provincial government could also provide incentives to  local units that manage traffic properly.

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I welcome the proposed Cebu city ordinance to make Saturday a no- plastic bag  day in response to the threat of flooding, like the severe experience of Metro Manila during heavy rains.

I believe this is a good initial step towards regulating the use of plastic in our community. People  should observe discipline in throwing out  garbage. It’s pathetic when people carefelessly toss out trash and we see the consequence when it rains, and drainage is clogged and causes flashfloods.