(Eagle News)–Senator Francis Pangilinan on Saturday, Aug. 25, questioned the appointment of Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita de Castro as the new Chief Justice, calling her an “endo CJ.”
“Why appoint someone who will only sit as Chief Justice for less than two months?” Pangilinan, president of the opposition Liberal Party, asked.
De Castro is slated to retire on October 10, 2018, when she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for justices.
“What public purpose does it serve? What public value does it create?” Pangilinan asked.
He said the “appointment of endo CJ does not help in the strengthening of the rule of law.”
De Castro bested two other associate justices–Lucas Bersamin and Diosdado Peralta–for the post.
She, Bersamin, Peralta and four other SC justices are facing impeachment complaints for their votes to oust Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice.
The complaints were filed by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman’s group.