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Search for next Chief Justice shouldn't hang on seniority, says law dean

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<figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1422334" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>MANILA - The appointment of Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro&#x27;s successor should not depend on the seniority of candidates, a law dean said Sunday.</p><p>De Castro is set to retire on Monday, ending a 41-day stint as head of the Supreme Court, the shortest in Philippine history.</p><p>Seniority &quot;should not be a factor&quot; in the search for De Castro&#x27;s replacement, which should instead weigh the competence, integrity, probity and independence of candidates, said Dean Soledad Mawis of the Lyceum of the Philippines University.</p><p>&quot;Guided by those 4 qualifications, I think the Chief Justice must be able to restore faith, as much as possible be free from politics. That should be the focus to make sure that everybody would feel that our Supreme Court is an independent institution,&quot; she told ANC.</p><p>The issue of seniority has often been raised against De Castro&#x27;s predecessor, ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, who was the youngest candidate when she applied as the country&#x27;s top magistrate in 2012.</p><p>Sereno was removed from office in May after a majority of her colleagues voted in favor of a quo warranto petition that cited her failure to declare her wealth in full.</p><p>The Judicial and Bar Council, consistent with tradition, have automatically nominated the 4 most senior Supreme Court judges to replace De Castro: Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano Del Castillo, and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.</p><p>The independence of the next Chief Justice will be tested when a legal battle over the withdrawal of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV&#x27;s amnesty reaches the high court, said Mawis.</p><p>President Rodrigo Duterte, in a declaration released last month, nullified the amnesty absolving Trillanes of charges over 2 failed mutinies due to his alleged failure to apply for the reprieve properly and express guilt for his crime. The senator has denied this.</p><p>&quot;Sooner or later, it (the issueI) will go up to the Supreme Court and to my mind it will be a litmus test. They must decide with independence in mind. This is a very political issue to begin,&quot; Mawis said.</p>

<p>The appointment of Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro's successor should not depend on the seniority of candidates, a law dean said Sunday.</p>

The appointment of Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro's successor should not depend on the seniority of candidates, a law dean said Sunday.