Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te resigns

Lawyer Theodore Te has resigned as spokesman of the Supreme Court (SC).

Te confirmed Monday that new Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro has accepted his resignation as Assistant Court Administrator and Chief of the SC's Public Information Office (PIO), a position he said is "highly confidential and coterminous with the chief justice."

Te was appointed as the SC's chief public information officer by ousted top magistrate Maria Lourdes Sereno.

He had expressed his disagreement with Sereno's expulsion from the high tribunal, tweeting "I dissent!" following the confirmation of the historic ouster.

In his August 29 resignation letter, Te told De Castro that he believes she should have a "free hand" to craft her own media policies and designate a person whom she believes could "best implement" them.

"I am returning to full-time academic life, which I had put on hold starting 2013 to be able to serve the judiciary and the Supreme Court. I respectfully believe that I would be of greater value to the judiciary and the Court in the academic world at this time," he wrote.

Resignation letter ni Atty. @TedTe , hawak na ni Chief Justice Teresita de Castro. | via Carlo Mateo pic.twitter.com/AAdjVWZ5oA

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 3, 2018

Atty. Maria Victoria Gleoresty Guerra will be acting Chief PIO after Te officially leaves his post on September 7.

"It had been a pleasure to have served on three committees which Your Honor has led during my tenure as Chief of the Public Information Office. May I respectfully offer my every good wish for your and the Court's success," Te wrote. —KG, GMA News