Bersamin takes a bow

CHIEF JUSTICE Lucas P. Bersamin leaves his post today, Oct. 18, as he reaches the retirement age of 70. Mr. Bersamin, who earned his law degree from the University of the East in 1973 and ranked ninth in the Bar examinations the same year, served in the judiciary since November 1986 as judge of Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 96. He was in private practice before joining the government. He was then appointed to the Court of Appeals (CA) justice in March 2003 before his appointment as SC associate justice in 2009 by then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Judicial and Bar Council has nominated Associate Justices Diosdado M. Peralta, Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe and Andres B. Reyes, Jr. for the position of chief justice. In his speech last Monday, the retired chief justice urged judiciary employees to remain loyal to the rule of law and the Constitution. In the latest Social Weather Stations survey for the third quarter of this year, Mr. Bersamin maintained a “moderate level rating” at +16 in September from +13 in June. According to the survey, 35% were satisfied and 19% were dissatisfied of the retiring magistrate. The Supreme Court’s satisfaction rating, on the other hand slipped from very good to good. Mr. Bersamin said he does not know the basis of the rating but “whatever comes out of it, we react to it but not to be angry.” “(W)hen people tell you, o, may muta ka…syempre alisin mo ‘yung muta diba? (you got dirt in the eye… of course you will take it out)… That’s just putting it bluntly but that is, in short, what we do when we have negative publicity.” — Vann Marlo M. Villegas