Unrest in SC? CJ orders questioned

A magistrate of the Supreme Court (SC) has questioned several administrative orders of Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, including the appointment of a Philippine Judicial Academy (Philja) official and provision for travel allowances of her staff. In a five-page memorandum

circulated among members of the high court last week, Associate Justice Teresita Leonardode Castro asked her colleagues to review Sereno’s orders, which she argued should have their prior approval as a collegial body and as provided under the rules.

De Castro specifically assailed the appointment of lawyer Brenda Jay Mendoza as Philja chief of office for the Philippine Mediation Center (PMC), which she said violated their Administrative Order No. 33-2008 that required the appointment for the post to be approved by the SC collegially.

She said Mendoza’s appointment in June 2016 was approved only by Sereno and two other senior justices through a memorandum that did not pass through the full court.

The magistrate pointed out the appointment of Mendoza’s predecessor, Sandiganbayan’s Geraldine Econg, was approved by the court in full in July 2015 precisely because of the requirement set in the administrative ruling.

For this, she asked her colleagues in the SC to review the appointment of Mendoza as chief of PMC.

In the memorandum, De Castro also assailed Sereno’s grant of foreign travel allowance to members of her staff even when their trips abroad were on “official time,” which should not involve expenditure of public funds.

De Castro said the Chief Justice did so without the requisite Court approval, “which every justice has to secure to be authorized to travel abroad on official business.”

De Castro particularly cited the frequent travel of Sereno’s staff member lawyer Ma. Lourdes Oliveros.

“The Chief Justice granted (Oliveros) foreign travel allowances charged to the Supreme Court funds without Court approval. The same is true with the foreign travel of the other staff in the OCJ (Office of the Chief Justice),” she further stressed.

For this reason, the magistrate asked her fellow justices to collegially “impose compliance with the requisite Court resolution approving foreign travel of court officials and personnel on official business before the expenditure of Supreme Court funds is authorized for said travel.”

De Castro likewise questioned the “long delay” in appointments to vacant key positions in SC pending before Sereno’s office, “which is prejudicial to the best interest of service.”

She particularly cited the positions for SC deputy clerk of court and chief attorney, which have been vacant for almost four years, and the two positions for assistant court administrator, which have also been vacant for over four years already.

De Castro asked the full court to now “order the posting of the long vacant positions and adopt guidelines to require expeditious posting and filling of vacant positions to serve the best interest of the service.”

The SC revoked in 2012 an order of Sereno to reopen a regional constitutional administrative office (RCAO) in the Visayas without their approval.

Sereno got the ire of her colleagues when she issued Administrative Order No. 175-2012 on Nov. 27 that created the Judicial Decentralization Office and reopened the post of RCAO in Cebu without getting the approval of the full court.

She appointed Econg to head RCAO-7 and even went to Cebu City for the reopening of the office.

It was also De Castro who questioned Sereno’s order then.