SC Justices Sereno, Velasco accept nominations

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Supreme Court Associate Justice Ma Lourdes Sereno, the first appointee of President Benigno Aquino III to the Tribunal, has accepted the nomination for chief justice, Rappler learned.

Another SC justice, Presbitero Velasco Jr, has also accepted the nomination for the post.

Sereno submitted her acceptance letter to the Judicial and Bar Council on Monday, July 2. By sheer coincidence, it is her 52th birthday on July 2. (Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who has also accepted her nomination, is also 52.)

If appointed to the position, Sereno would be the first woman chief justice in the history of the Philippine Supreme Court. She would also be serving for 18 years following the mandatory age of 70 for Supreme Court justices.

President Aquino appointed Sereno to the SC in August 2010, barely two months after he became president.

She almost testified against then Chief Justice Renato Corona at the latter’s impeachment trial, but the prosecution eventually rested its case. It was Sereno who exposed Corona’s alleged machinations at the Court in relation to its order allowing former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband to leave the country. The government defied the order.

Velasco, on the other hand, is an appointee of former President Arroyo. – Rappler.com

Click on the links below for more. 

• 22 official candidates for Chief Justice
• JBC to interview CJ candidates starting July 24
• 25 accept nominations for chief justice
• Questions for chief justice candidates
• JBC should review process of choosing CJ
• Besides JBC, Palace has judicial search committee
• CONVERSATIONS: How should the JBC choose the next chief justice? #SCWatch