De Castro is new Chief Justice —JBC member

President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro as the new chief justice, according Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

The appointment of the 25th chief justice was confirmed by Guevarra, a member of the Judicial and Bar Council, which screens applicants for the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman.

“I have been informed that the President's choice has been publicly announced by Special Assistant to the President Bong Go and that the appointment will be officially released by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on Tuesday (August 28),” Guevarra said in a text message.

Arroyo-appointee De Castro is the most senior aspirant to the seat vacated by the ousted top judge Maria Lourdes Sereno. De Castro edged out fellow SC magistrates Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin, who made it to the JBC shortlist.

De Castro will only serve as the top judge for less than two months as she is set to retire on her 70th birthday on October 8, becoming the Philippines' chief justice with the shortest stint.

That record previously belonged to the late Pedro Yap, who was at the helm of the SC for 72 days or from April 19, 1988 to June 30, 1988.

De Castro had said she would be unfazed by the prospect of a short term.

During the JBC's public panel interview of chief justice applicants last week, De Castro discussed her extensive work at the SC.

"It is not as if I am going to start today working on projects that will benefit the court," she told the Judicial and Bar Council during the public panel interview of chief justice applicants last week.

Her response to the JBC's question of what she can "realistically" accomplish in less than two months was an enumeration of past work: endeavors to improve court gender responsiveness, family courts and juvenile concerns, and the system on case management.

"I've accomplished much already and there are projects which are set for completion within this short period that you mentioned," she said. "And I can start projects which may go beyond my retirement."

De Castro, who has been in government and judiciary work for 45 years, was appointed to the SC in 2007 by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She said she started working on judicial reform projects in 2009.

Malacañang hailed De Castro’s appointment.

“Bravo! Best choice for CJ! Proven competence, known nationalist and a streak of being a judicial activist!” said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

Sereno impeachment

De Castro, Peralta, and Bersamin all stayed on the ouster case Sereno despite her plea for them to recuse themselves due to alleged bias.

De Castro figured in a heated exchange with Sereno during the oral arguments in April on Solicitor General Jose Calida's petition for quo warranto as she questioned Sereno on the filing of her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

They eventually formed part of the SC majority that expelled Sereno for an alleged failure to file some mandatory asset declarations.

De Castro, Peralta, and Bersamin are the second, third, and fourth most senior magistrates of the SC, which for close to six years was headed by Sereno, a junior SC member before former President Benigno Aquino III named her top judge. 

De Castro is a veteran government worker, having been in public service for 45 years. She started out as a law clerk at the SC in 1973, rose from the ranks at the Department of Justice, and was eventually named presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan before her appointment to the High Court.

The University of the Philippines alumna was chair of the Sandiganbayan Special Division that convicted former President Joseph Estrada of plunder. Arroyo would later pardon Estrada. — with Virgil Lopez/MDM, GMA News