Carpio thanked for siding with people

Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) yesterday thanked Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio for his service to the judiciary and for “siding with the people.”

Carpio will retire from the service on Oct. 26.

Bayan said during his last three years in the Supreme Court (SC), Carpio sided with the people on issues such as the Marcos burial, martial law in Mindanao and plunder cases involving top officials.

The group said Carpio valued national interest above the prospect of becoming chief justice (CJ).

“His position put him at odds with the Duterte regime. It may have cost him the CJ position, but it gained him the respect and admiration of the people. It cemented his legacy as a defender of national sovereignty,” Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary-general, said.

Reyes said Carpio’s greatest legacy lies in his efforts to provide a strong legal foundation to the people’s defense of the West Philippine Sea.

Bayan benefitted from Carpio’s well-grounded legal arguments on national sovereignty and sovereign rights, Reyes said.

“He taught us that a country even as small as the Philippines can stand up to a giant like China. He called on the people never to waiver in asserting our legal victory and sovereign rights.

“As Justice Carpio bows out of the SC, we can hope that he will have more time to be with various groups that continue to fight for our sovereign rights. He has always been an important part of this movement in his role as the foremost legal expert on the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

The group thanked Carpio for being a beacon in the Supreme Court as the country looked forward to continuing the struggle for a truly free and democratic Philippines.