Peralta: I've done everything for better judiciary

Supreme Court (SC) magistrates on Thursday honored outgoing Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, who steered the judiciary amid challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and threats to members of the legal profession.

During the blended retirement ceremony, Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe praised Peralta’s dedication “to the pursuit of public interest and welfare.”

Associate Justice Marvic Leonen described Peralta as a patient person, adding the top magistrate was “strategic in his interventions, personal in his approach, respectful with the opinions of others, and collegial in his leadership.”

“He has stood with us and defended those among us who were attacked.”

Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan added: “Despite being overwhelmed by difficult tasks, you simply refused to be defeated. You have been a steady pillar for all employees of the judiciary.”

Peralta’s colleagues on the bench also presented him, albeit virtually, tokens such as the SC seal, judicial robe, gavel, and the Statuette of Judicial Excellence.

Under Peralta’s leadership, the SC formulated and approved 18 procedural rules and guidelines meant to improve the administration of justice and address the problem of clogged court dockets.

The Court restructured and streamlined the plantilla of various offices, divisions, and services to guarantee security of tenure for the employees and to improve its processes as well as organized the Judicial Integrity Board to curb corruption in the judiciary.

Peralta also established the Judiciary Public Assistance Section (JPAS) to promptly receive and act on concerns, issues, suggestions, and complaints against erring court officials and employees.

The Court also took a stand this week against attacks on lawyers and judges and presented steps to address these incidents.

Peralta will leave the judiciary on his 69th birthday on March 27, one year ahead of the mandatory retirement age for justices.

“I will leave the Supreme Court without any regret, knowing that I did all that I could for the law, for the courts, and for the nation, and with the conviction that I did my best in performing my bounden duty to the Constitution,” Peralta said in his speech.

“Given every challenge and difficulty that the judiciary faced these past months, I believe I have done everything  within my authority as Chief Justice to leave behind me a better and improved judiciary. I have led, and lived, by example.”

Peralta turned emotional when he honored his family, especially his parents who taught him discipline and the value of hard work.

“I owe everything to them,” he said.

He also expressed his gratitude to former presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Peralta joined the government service in 1987 as a prosecutor under the Aquino administration. It was Ramos who appointed Peralta as judge while Arroyo promoted him to the Sandiganbayan and later the SC.

He also thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for appointing him as the 26th chief justice in October 2019, “signifying his trust and confidence in me in spite of my admission in my JBC (Judicial and Bar Council) interview that I was neither a Bar topnotcher nor an honor student.”

“I look forward to the world outside the Supreme Court with the thought that, at my age, life is still full of possibilities,” said Peralta, who previously revealed that he planned to go back to teaching after his retirement.

Peralta and the members of his family were inside the Court’s session hall during the entire ceremony. The other magistrates participated online.

Those who attended in-person were required to submit the negative result of their RT-PCR test and/or antigen test taken not earlier than Wednesday, the SC Public Information Office said.

Rapid antigen test was also made available onsite hours before the event, which was held amid rising cases of COVID-19 in the high court. The SC has so far reported over 60 active cases. -MDM, GMA News