Days after being downed by the flu, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes
Sereno is set to fly to Malaysia on Friday to lead the Philippine
delegation to the 2nd Roundtable for Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) chief justices on Environmental Law and Enforcement.
The three-day roundtable event to be held in Melaka, Malaysia will
bring together chief justices and senior judges from ASEAN countries to
share their practices on environmental justice, adjudication, and
governance, according to a statement from the SC Public Information
Office.
Joining Sereno for the event are
Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr, Deputy Court Administrator Raul
Villanueva, and Assistant Court Administrator Jenny Lind
Aldecoa-Delorino.
SC spokesperson Ma. Victoria
Gleoresty Guerra admitted that Sereno "hasn't fully recovered yet...
but her condition may improve by tomorrow [Friday]."
"She reported to work today [Thursday] but will leave early to prevent a relapse," Guerra told GMA News Online.
Sereno had to skip last Tuesday's en banc session after being down with
the flu. She appointed Associate Justice Antonio Carpio to repside over
the meeting instead.
Her absence came amid the
controversy of her re-opening a judicial office in Cebu City to
decentralize the Manila-based Office of the Court Administrator, even
without the go signal of the court en banc.
In a
letter-memorandum addressed to Sereno, her more senior colleague and
Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro asked her to recall the
order re-opening the said judicial office, saying it did not reflect
what has been discussed during a November 27 en banc meeting, in which
several justice opposed the revival of the regional office.
De Castro said Sereno's Administrative Order cretaing the office
"transgressed" the en banc's constitutional authority to decide on
administrative matters concerning the judiciary.
As of posting time, Sereno has yet to comment on the matter.
As of posting time, Sereno has yet to comment on the matter.
Reports earlier swirled that one of the justices who opposed Sereno's
AO was prepared to confront her during last Tuesday's en banc session.
But with Sereno skipping the session, the magistrates deferred tackling
the matter and decided to bring up instead next Tuesday.
De Castro, an appointee of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
was among the senior SC justices bypassed when Sereno was selected by
Mrs. Arroyo's successor, President Benigno Aquino III, to replace ousted
Chief Justice Renato Corona to be the country's top judge.
Sereno was the first of Aquino's so far four appointees to the
15-magistrate Supreme Court. His latest appointee was former University
of the Philippines law dean and chief peace negotiator Marvic Leonen. — Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMA News
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