Castro urges critics to respect court’s decisions

At the Supreme Court (SC), Mondays are no longer red.Court employees and justices wore blue yesterday in support of newly installed Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, who led her first flag-raising ceremony since taking her oath of office.De Castro thanked court officials and workers for their support, and used the opportunity to ask the co-equal branches of the government for respect, especially as regards decisions made by the court, whether unanimous or by majority vote.“The chief justice is only the first but equal to the other justices of the Supreme Court; the SC is a collegial body whose decisions and actions must be respected, without any interference,” she said.Technically the first female chief justice, de Castro asked the public not to rush to judgment on controversies involving the court.“People outside would like to judge us by what they see or hear from afar, but it’s us, the justices and officials of the court, who know what is happening inside the Supreme Court and we should be left alone,” she said.The Supreme Court Employees Association held blue balloons to mark what they deemed to be the return of peace in the court and the judiciary with the appointment of de Castro.The high court was mired in controversy following the removal of Maria Lourdes Sereno as chief justice via quo warranto, or proceedings that determined whether she was qualified to be appointed to the post.Sereno was found to be unfit for her failure to file the required number of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth when she applied to become chief justice in 2012.De Castro’s own appointment was questioned by opposition lawmakers as she would serve for only 41 days. She will reach the mandatory age of retirement of 70 on October 8.“Your support spelled a big difference in the understanding of what the Supreme Court is aspiring for during the time when we went through those turbulent months here in the court. Because of your solidly standing behind the justices, the justices were able to weather the storm that beset the court during those times, so we thank you for this,” de Castro said.Court employees had staged “Black Friday” protests against the impeachment of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012 and “Red Monday” demonstrations to support the impeachment of Sereno.