Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno declined media interviews saying she preferred that the Supreme Court return to its “dignified silence.”
“Wisdom leads me to seek to return the Supreme Court to its days of dignified silence–when its justices were heard when read thru their writings and when the actions of the Court were best seen in their collective resolutions,” Sereno said in a statement issued Tuesday.
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.”