Bersamin takes oath as Chief Justice before Duterte

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday administered the ceremonial oath of office to Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, his second appointee to the highest position in the judiciary.

Bersamin was accompanied by his family during the ceremony held in Malacañang,  according to a press statement released by the presidential palace.

Apart from Bersamin, Supreme Court Associate Justices Ramon Paul Hernando and Rosmari Carandang were also sworn in by the President during the event which was closed to the media.

Present during the ceremony were other SC justices and members of the screening body Judicial and Bar Council.

Bersamin replaced Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, who retired in October after serving as chief justice for only 41 days, the shortest term in the 117-year history of the SC.

He will serve as top magistrate for less than a year or until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 on October 18, 2019.

Duterte said last week that seniority was a factor in his decision to pick the new chief justice. The President gave the same reason when he appointed De Castro in August as she was the most senior among the three nominees.

Having been a judge since 1986, the Bersamin has served in the judiciary the longest among all the sitting justices of the high court. By SC standards, where the date of appointment is the basis for seniority, he is third most senior, after Justices Antonio Carpio and Diosdado Peralta, both of whom he overtook for the top spot.

Duterte also led the oath-taking of 49 newly appointed government officials, including trial court judges, state prosecutors and state solicitors.

The other officials included Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Raquel “Rocky” Tobias, Civil Service Commissioner Aileen Lourdes Abella Lizada, National Anti-Poverty Commission Lead Convener Noel Kinazo Felongco, and Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor Chairman Alvin San Juan Feliciano.

“My only message to you is that we are all workers of government and so let us work to preserve the nation and to protect the people,” Duterte said in his message to the new government officials. —NB, GMA News