Cordillera leaders welcome appointment of CJ Bersamin

By Liza Agoot  

BAGUIO CITY -- The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in Northern Luzon and the leaders of the Cordillera region welcomed the appointment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin.

“As a matter of tradition, we take pride in the appointment of whoever comes from the region as head of a department in government,” lawyer Alan Antonio Mazo, IBP deputy governor for Cordillera and president of the IBP Baguio-Benguet, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday.

He said that during the regional convention of the IBP Northern Luzon in Tuguegarao, Cagayan last week, the group, composed of the IBP chapters from Baguio and Benguet, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela, Cagaya, Kalinga, and the newly created chapter in Apayao, have repeatedly congratulated Bersamin for his appointment to the highest post of the judiciary department.

Bersamin hails from Abra province in the Cordillera region. He is the first native from the region to be appointed as Chief Justice of the highest court.

“It doesn’t matter where the leader of a particular department comes from, but what matters most is the leadership the person has,” Mazo said, making it clear that the judiciary does not promote regionalism.

Mazo said the judiciary always observes independence in its decision.

“The Supreme Court observes independence. It has to preserve the trust in the system. Our justices in the Supreme Court do not take into consideration where parties come from. They have always taught us the rule of law regardless of ethnicity or the place of origin of the parties,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte announced the appointment of Justice Bersamin on Nov. 28 as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, taking over the post from retired Chief Justice Teresita de Castro.

               Meanwhile, Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan said the President made the right choice in choosing Bersamin because of the Chief Justice's "proven competence, independence, and track record as a member of the judiciary for over three decades."

Domogan is the chairman of both the Cordillera Regional Development Council (RDC-CAR) and the Regional Peace and Order Council in the region (RPOC-CAR).

“We are proud of Bersamin’s appointment as the next Chief Justice," Domogan said. "He deserves to be named to the highest position in the judiciary because of his long decades of experience in the legal profession.”

Bersamin was a regional trial court judge in 1986 and was appointed as an SC justice in April 2009.

He started his career at the judiciary in November 1986, when he was appointed as a trial court judge, for which he received the Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Award (Outstanding RTC Judge) in 2002.

In 2000, he bagged the Best Decision in Civil Law and Best Decision in Criminal Law recognitions.

Bersamin was appointed as Court of Appeals associate justice in March 2003.

Then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now the House speaker, appointed Bersamin to the high court on April 2, 2009.

Joining the RDC-CAR and RPO-CAR in congratulating the new Chief Justice were Kalinga Rep. and Mountain Province caretaker congressman Allen Jesse Mangaoang, Benguet Gov. Crescencio C. Pacalso, Mountain Province Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr., Ifugao Gov. Pedro Mayam-o, Kalinga Gov. Jocel Baac, Apayao Gov. Elias C. Bulut, Jr., Apayao Rep. Eleanor Bulut-Begtang, and Benguet Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan. -- PNA