Questions Arise on CJ Sereno’s Appointment by Pnoy

The appointment of CJ Maria Lourdes Serano almost came unnoticed, as the nation was greatly mourning the death of Secretary Jessie Robredo by the time she received her official letters from President Benigno Aquino III.

But such high appointment from Pnoy, especially after the position of the highest judicial officer was vacated due to a prolonged and dragging impeachment proceeding against former CJ Renato Corona, would have certainly enticed some form of apprehension and even protestation.

Hacienda Luisita farmers the other day went to the streets to question the verity of her appointment, alleging that she had lobbied for a higher pay-up for the owners of Hacienda Luisita, which includes Pnoy for that matter, which would have granted a much higher 2006 price of P 170,000 per hectare for the vast landholding rather than the 1989 valuation of P 40,000 per hectare.

Church leaders have also signaled their uneasiness with CJ Sereno as her close affiliation with Pnoy would render any future legal debate on the RH Bill issue unfavorable to their cause, anticipating that if the RH Bill would be approve, it’s constitutionality would certainly be against at the highest court.

“She has a lot of time, almost two decades… a lot of time to prove herself in terms of making the administration of justice much faster than it is now, which is a primary concern and agenda for her as Chief Justice,” said retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz.

The latest question on her appointment is the query about her passing mark in the psychological test given by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) in connection with her nomination to the Chief Justice position weeks ago.

Fortunately, JBC have responded quickly and affirmed her passing mark, albeit not high. Jose Mejia, representing the academe in the JBC had stated that she would not have been short-listed for final selection by the President if she did not pass the psychological test.

With all these queries and protestations, the most emphatic aspect of CJ Sereno’s appointment was her very close affiliation to the appointing officer, being a batchmate in Ateneo de Manila University during her student days there, taking up Economics, the same course Pnoy had taken up there.

One can only imagine how close they were. They might as well have been former classmates.

Being a female nominee and one of the youngest, Senator Edgardo Angara termed her appointment as “unique and unprecedented’ that there is great apprehension among senior members of the Supreme Court, about how they would adjust to this nascent situation, especially now that they have a new boss, a female boss, and one who is merely new in their roster.

I had expected more from Pnoy, to make a clear and crystalline appointment, one that would not be questioned upon for partisanship, to be suspected as serve serving, to be neutral in every way you see it. But CJ Sereno’s appointment was far from that.

And therefore, despite’s CJ Sereno’s exemplary record of service and achievement, this one appointment of Pnoy may be questioned and protested in days or even months from now, or even throughout his presidency. And that’s a bad thing.