Respect Supreme Court, De Castro tells other gov't branches

Respect and leave the Supreme Court (SC) to decide for itself, new Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro told the executive and legislative branches of government on Monday.

In a speech before SC justices, officials and employees after her first flag rites as chief magistrate, De Castro said the SC must be left to decide its own fate "without interference."

"The other members of the co-equal and independent branches of the government should understand that based on our constitutional order, the decisions reached by the justices of the Supreme Court, whether unanimously or by majority vote, must be respected," she said.

She said it is the high court, "more than anyone else," that would be affected by a wrong decision as it would hurt the institution's integrity.

"And each of the justices have done that, studying meticulously the Constitution, the law, the rules and the evidence on record, so we demand respect from the other members of the co-equal and coordinate branch of government," De Castro said.

De Castro earlier said she would have no difficulty maintaining the independence of the judiciary during her short term at its helm.

"[President Rodrigo Duterte] appointed me without knowing me personally. I don't think that the President would do anything that will impair the independence of the judiciary," she said last week.

De Castro also said the chief justice is "only the first, but equal nevertheless" with the SC's associate justices, in apparent reference to a previous statement about restoring collegiality in the tribunal.

"No one can claim superiority over the others, and we decide all cases whether judicial or administrative with one vote each. And that was how we decided a case which involved the integrity of this Court," she said.

'Turbulent months'

De Castro also alluded to "turbulent months" experienced by the SC, and thanked court staff for "standing solidly" behind the justices, likely referring to the times during the ouster case against her predecessor, Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Some SC employees, donning red, had asked for Sereno's resignation — calls that went unheeded as she stood her ground until her colleagues ruled to disqualify her from the Office of the Chief Justice.

De Castro, in contrast, was welcomed by a crowd of blue-clad employees, who cheered her when she said: "People outside would like to judge us by what they hear or see from afar, but it is us the justices and employees and officials of the Court who know what is happening inside the Supreme Court."

"And we should be left alone to decide for ourselves," she said.

De Castro will retire next month.  —KBK, GMA News