By REY G. PANALIGAN
Senior Justice Antonio T. Carpio is now acting Chief Justice (CJ) following the indefinite leave of absence of CJ Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno.
Sereno temporarily relinquished her post to prepare for the proceedings in the impeachment complaints filed against her.
As acting CJ, Carpio – who is chair of the Supreme Court’s (SC) second division and head of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) – is also acting chair of both the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) and the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro is the working chairperson of the SC’s first division, while Justice Presbitero J. Velasco Jr. heads the court’s third division. Velasco is also the chair of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
Carpio, who was born in Davao City, was appointed SC justice by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He assumed office on Oct. 26, 2001, his 52nd birthday. He is set to retire on Oct. 26, 2019 when he reaches 70, the mandatory retirement age of members of the judiciary.
The indefinite leave of CJ Sereno was formalized in a letter sent to Deputy Clerk of Court Anna-Li Papa Gombio last Feb. 27.
In her letter, Sereno said: “On the matter of my leave, please take note that due to the demands of the Senate trial where I intend to fully set out my defenses to the baseless charges, I will take an indefinite leave, until I shall have completed my preparation for the Senate trial….”
She said that a portion of her indefinite leave will be charged against her wellness (health) leave from March 1 to 15, 2018 which was originally set from March 12, to 23, 2018.
Among big cases now pending with the SC are the petitions on the government’s all-out drive against illegal drugs under “Oplan Tokhang,” Dengvaxia vaccine, filing of drugs cases against Sen. Leila de Lima, the Mamasapano cases, and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN).
The PET, composed of all SC justices, is set to start its ballot recount on March 19 on the protest filed by former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. against Vice President Ma. Leonar “Leni” Robredo.
The JBC has been continuously screening applicants to vacancies in the judiciary.