Pledging to lead a High Court that would “rightly wield” the Judiciary’s power to interpret the Constitution and “make a difference for good,” Senior Associate Justice Reynato S. Puno was sworn in as the 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a few minutes after midnight last December 7.
     In his first press conference held later that day at the SC Division Hearing Room, Chief Justice Puno thanked the President for his appointment, which he accepted “with a clear awareness of the defining role of the judiciary as our people confront turning points after turning points in life.” The new chief magistrate, however, stressed he would not “condition my vote on the basis of who appointed me” and vowed to “uphold constitutionalism and the rule of law.”
     “The Judiciary has but one constituency and it is a constituency... > MORE