Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Private-sector groups expressed support for the selection of Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as the 24th chief justice of the Supreme Court and reiterated calls for reform in the country’s judicial system.
“From the feedback from business leaders and professionals, people favor the appointment and now want to see reforms. It does show up in our competitiveness assessments that our judicial system is seen to be slow and somewhat unpredictable,” National Competitiveness Council co-chairperson Guillermo Luz said in an interview over the weekend.
Luz said the NCC’s working group for the judiciary had recommendations for reforms but they could not have been put forward because the impeachment trial of Renato Corona was ongoing and it would not have been the right time to take them up.
“With the appointment, we can now try to arrange discussions on the immediate challenges, which are: speed of courts, perception of fairness, and consistency,” he said.
“Speed is not just for the SC (Supreme Court) but for the lower courts as well,” Luz said. As for consistency, he said, he hoped flip-flopping on court decisions, such as in the case of the cityhood of a number of municipalities, would be addressed.
“Business groups and the league of professionals are hopeful (Sereno’s) tenure would be enough time to institute reforms. We know reforms take a long time and because of that we would like to see initial efforts soon,” Luz said.
Also during the weekend, the Makati Business Club said in a statement that it hailed Sereno’s appointment, saying she was a “morally upright person with impeccable integrity, independence of mind, and competence” required for her position as the highest magistrate of the land.
“The impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona divided the country and greatly tested the faith of the people in our justice system. We sincerely hope that our new Chief Justice rebuilds the people’s trust in the institution by ensuring greater transparency and accountability in the courts,” MBC said.
The business group also expressed hope that Sereno would drive the long-delayed and necessary reforms toward “uncrowding” the judiciary’s congested dockets, the speedy resolution of cases, “and the fair and equal application of the law.”