It’s a girl!

No. I am not referring to a baby being born, but to the choice of President Benigno Aquino III of a woman for the very exalted and prestigious position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land. After several weeks of speculations, from the time the candidates for the office were nominated, to their public interviews by the panel from the Judicial and Bar Council, suspense ruled in the country as to WHO would be the chosen one.

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It must not have been easy to pick the one who would replace the disgraced former Chief Justice who was also tried under full media coverage, with the entire citizenry making their own personal judgment. When the short list came out, with only eight considered worthy enough to be the one, speculations again grew. I am ready to bet, though, that few, if any, had thought the presidential choice would be Ma. Lourdes Sereno, perhaps the youngest among the present justices of the High Court, and one of the latest to be appointed.

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Sereno is also the first High Court justice to be appointed by President Aquino, which is what is triggering apprehensions that she might be a biased Chief Justice, that is, biased towards the plans and positions of the president. But, PNoy must have studied this decision thoroughly and thought that all the others would probably have their own biases, so why not take a chance on a younger and still untested one? I don’t think he went by the principle of “Better the devil that you know…”

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Well, that’s another cause for rejoicing among the women, because this is the first time one of them had taken over that lofty office. I know many people think that President Aquino must have had another feisty woman in mind as he waited for the list from the JBC, but since he was “forced to good”, as gamblers say, he picked Sereno. Just between us girls, I had been hoping it would be the other lady, Justice Teresita de Castro, whose credentials and whose responses during her “revalida” impressed me a lot. Well, the die is cast. Sereno is only 52, we may have her there for 18 years, if she plays all her cards right. Good luck to her.

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Meanwhile, another outstanding woman is in the news for her fortitude and courage in accepting what she fully believes is the will of God for her family. Mrs. Leni Robredo, the widow of the departed Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, showed us all what a strong person and what a humble and intelligent one she is, too. Of course she is a lawyer, but her attitude in life is something to truly admire. While she agreed to what the President and other officials planned for the wake and vigil for her husband, she firmly rejected proposals to bury him in any other place but their home city. She will be a wonderful model for her three young daughters.

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One could only be amused to watch the performance of traffic bully Robert Blair Carabuena on TV when he recited, no, read, his apology to the traffic constable he had harassed and maltreated for calling his attention to a traffic violation. There was no way one could see that it was a heartfelt apology. He only seemed to be bothered that he may lose his driver’s license, and also face a serious charge in court. Well, as they say, Repentance comes last. So all ye hotheaded drivers, take note.

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Also, it was interesting to see the report that 39 persons, including some non-fraternity members linked to the death by hazing of Marc Andre Marcos last month, have been charged in court by the victim’s family. Included in the case are the owners of the resort where the dastardly actions took place, the parents of the head of the Lex Leonum Fraternity. Concerned citizens reportedly furnished the names of the members, and they were confirmed by witnesses. Now let us see if the so-called anti-hazing law has enough teeth.

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What a coincidence it is that the appointment of a new Supreme Court Chief Justice comes at the same time that the Court of Appeals has acted on one of the cases involving the infamous Fertilizer Scam that was perpetrated during the term of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and which involved so many national and local officials. The CA affirmed the decision of the Ombudsman to dismiss former Agriculture assistant secretary Ibarra Poliquit for his role in the scam. Dismissal only? What about the others involved in similar, or worse, misconducts? Is this just the tip of the fertilizer iceberg? What follows?*

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