Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro will retire from the judiciary on Wednesday after serving as top magistrate for less than two months.
After her retirement rites last Friday, De Castro bid farewell to Supreme Court employees in her last flag-raising ceremony and thanked them for their support for her 10 years and 8 months in the 15-member bench.
“I tried my best so that my presence will be most felt not only by the employees of the Court but also of our judges and justices nationwide,” De Castro said, in her speech.
De Castro, the 24th and the first female chief justice of the country, was given a citation for her 45 years of service in government—including 10 years and eight months in the High Court. Court personnel also greeted her with the Happy Birthday song for her 70th birthday tomorrow (Wednesday).
In her 44 days as chief justice, De Castro was able to implement 32 judicial reform programs and projects.
It was also under De Castro’s watch when the Court increased the monthly salary of first-level court judges all over the country.
De Castro also implemented SC’s administrative order that increased the salary grade of judges in municipal trial courts, municipal circuit trial courts, municipal trial courts in cities and shari’a circuit courts, in one of the several judicial reforms implemented under the brief term as Chief Justice.
The De Castro SC increased the salaries of judges in lower courts, from salary grade 26 and 27 to grade 28 through a resolution it issued last Sept. 11.
She has also convened the Justice Sector Coordinating Council, which had not met for three years, and approved the launch of a second Justice Zone in Cebu City and created technical working groups on planning, budgeting, data reconciliation, and evidence management system.
During her leadership, the SC also adopted the new rule for direct payment of legal fees through over-the-counter payment in Land Bank of the Philippines branches and increased the fees for mediators and stenographers.
Also under her watch, the SC approved the construction of halls of justice for Tanay in Rizal and Cagayan De Oro City.
The Chief Justice also pushed for additional cost of living allowance for justices, judges, officials and employees for the month of August chargeable to the 80 percent judiciary development fund and approved the additional grant of rice subsidy allowance for first and second quarters of this year.
De Castro also filled key vacancies in the SC – a deputy court administrator and two clerks of court – that were long vacant during the tenure of ousted chief justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno.
The SC has named Davao City regional trial court Judge Leo Madrazo as deputy court administrator for Mindanao last Sept. 4. This position has been vacant for over a year or since July 2017.
The high court has also named lawyer Ma. Carina Cunanan as SC deputy clerk of court and chief administrative officer in appointment paper released also last Sept. 4. This position has been vacant since December last year.
Lastly, the Court appointed lawyer Librada Buena as new SC first division clerk of court in place of clerk of court Felipa Anama, who retired from the judiciary earlier this year.
When she assumed her post as chief justice last August, De Castro said she wanted her brief leadership in the judicial branch to be remembered as the one “that restored collegiality in the Supreme Court” and “which was able to institute several reforms in the judicial processes.”
Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio had lauded De Castro for “restoring dignity and harmony in the Supreme Court.”