(Eagle News) — Newly appointed Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro will take her oath before President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, Aug. 31, Special Assistant to the President Bong Go said.
“CJ appointee Justice De Castro has communicated to OP [Office of the President] that she will endeavor to take her oath at the earliest time as soon as SC [Supreme Court] is in receipt of her appointment paper that she may assume and enter into judicial functions and duties as CJ [chief justice],” Go said.
De Castro was chosen by Duterte from a shortlist that included Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin and Diosdado Peralta.
The shortlist was submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council, which said De Castro’s appointment papers would be released on Tuesday.
Opposition lawmakers have slammed De Castro’s appointment, saying it was a reward for her role in the ouster of Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice.
But Duterte himself denied this, saying he only appointed the most senior justice on the shortlist.
He added he did not know any one of them personally.
