De Castro denies rift with Sereno

Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro has denied any rift with Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

“We are okay. We see each other every session,” De Castro told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the high tribunal’s e-Court project in Quezon City Friday.

Early this month, De Castro tweaked Sereno for ignoring her recommendation to stop the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from disqualifying Coalition of Senior Citizens as a party-list group.  Sereno issued a sweeping temporary restraining order that stopped the poll body from proclaiming party-list winners.

On June 5, the Supreme Court in a special en banc session reversed Sereno’s ruling.

Last year, De Castro also criticized Sereno for re-opening the Regional Court Administration Office (RCAO) in Cebu without the approval of the 14 other justices.

De Castro, a senior justice of the Supreme Court, was one of Sereno’s rivals for the Chief Justice post.

But De Castro denied she was just nit-picking.

“Nothing personal, it’s just work,” she said.

Both Sereno and De Castro were in Quezon City Friday morning for the launch of e-Court project, which features a computer-based system designed to enable trial court judges, court personnel and officers to organize and control the flow of the case from filing to resolution and enforcement. The project also allows access to case information available to both the court and the public.

During this morning’s program, De Castro thanked Sereno for involving her in the e-Court project. They were seated next to each other during the event and were seen chatting at least a couple of times. They were joined by the high court’s youngest magistrate, Marvic Leonen.