SC information office workers hoping to keep jobs

The Supreme Court building in Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Employees of the Supreme Court’s Public Information Office will be out of work on October 31.

Acting Supreme Court Spokesperson Gleo Guerra said the SC-PIO Staff are co-terminus with the Chief Justice and it will be up to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to reappoint them or not.

When Chief Justice Renato Corona was impeached, acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio extended the staff of the SC-PIO. When Sereno assumed office, she issued a memo saying officers and staff of the PIO will be up to Oct. 31.

“The services of the Management Information Office and the Public Information Office are extended effective from Aug. 25, 2012 until Oct. 31, 2012, without prejudice to reappointment,” Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said in her memo.

Guerra said there are close to 30 SC-PIO Staff.

“It will be up to the discretion of the Chief Justice,” Guerra said over the phone Sunday adding that not being reappointed is always a possibility.

Guerra denied the information that the PIO will be shut down.

Chief Justice Hilario Davide instituted the high court’s PIO in 1998. Davide has envisioned a Supreme Court that is not detached from the populace. He had described it as the coming down of the so-called gods from Mt. Olympus and the opening of the fortress that is the Court.

Before Chief Justice Davide took over in 1998, the workings of the Supreme Court were largely a mystery to those outside the legal profession; its Justices not as well-known as their counterparts in the Executive and Legislative branches.