‘Look who’s talking’

The editorial, “Addressing the new lawyers” (6/6/18), was a good read for observers who could only wish to say to the faces of three Supreme Court justices — Francis Jardeleza, Lucas Bersamin and Teresita de Castro — who took turns taking potshots at ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at the oath-taking of new lawyers: Look who’s talking!

Variants on the same theme have one thing in common: Sereno was arrogant and she had it coming.  All three plus five other envious justices were gloating over her “comeuppance.” But of particular interest to us  were the remarks of De Castro, Sereno’s most bitter rival who refused to inhibit herself from sitting in judgment on the quo warranto case against the chief justice:  “My wish … is that none of you will ever be prey to that kind of hubris … If you believe that you know better than the courts, or that jurists who have been sitting on the bench long before you were even born would readily gamble with their careers by deciding cases based on ill motives or petty personal concerns, you would not be here now to take your oath.”

Jurists who used to sit in the Supreme Court long before De Castro got appointed by former president Gloria Arroyo had long adhered to the time-honored and elementary rule on good manners and right conduct among judges:  Bias or partiality—or even just the appearance of it—has absolutely no place in any court of justice.

Law practitioners, law professors and their law students around the country got it down pat. Pray tell, what part of that exhortation did De Castro, Jardeleza or Bersamin not get?

ROMANO MORANO MONTENEGRO, [email protected]