MANILA - (2ND UPDATE) President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Lucas Bersamin as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the Judicial and Bar Council said Wednesday.

The office of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea released Bersamin's appointment papers as well as Rosmari Carandang's, who was appointed as Supreme Court associate justice, said JBC ex-officio member Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Bersamin took his oath before Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio after signing his appointment papers.

Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin takes oath before SAJ Antonio Carpio, in the presence of retired CJ De Castro and his immediate family pic.twitter.com/Z5t3J9fPq7 — Ina Reformina (@InaReformina) November 28, 2018

Signed appointment paper of CJ Lucas Bersamin pic.twitter.com/HHVWcv5aPX — Ina Reformina (@InaReformina) November 28, 2018

The 69-year-old Bersamin replaced Teresita Leonardo-De Castro who retired from government service in October after serving as chief justice for 41 days following the dismissal of Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Bersamin was presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 96 in 1986, and was a Court of Appeals associate justice prior to being appointed to the high court by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

As associate justice, Bersamin voted in favor of Sereno's ouster, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos' burial at the Heroes' Cemetery, and the Mindanao martial law declaration and extension, among others.

Sereno's appointment was invalidated in May through a quo warranto petition for failure to file her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).

Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and Andres Reyes Jr. also vied for the chief magistrate post.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo welcomed the appointment Bersamin as Chief Justice and Court of Appeals Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang as the newest member of the high court, saying the two “belong to what [Duterte] calls ‘the best and the brightest.’”

“We are confident that CJ Bersamin and AJ Carandang will continue to uphold judicial excellence, assert its independence and stand firm against erring members of the bench, the bar and court personnel as they lead the third branch of the government, together with the rest of the Supreme Court Justices, in remaining steadfast in its role as the guardian of the rule of law.”

'FRIENDLY' TO ADMINISTRATION

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Concerns that Bersamin has been "friendlier towards the policies of the executive department" cannot be on his critics, said Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Abdiel Fajardo

The IBP endorsed Carpio to become chief justice.

"That by itself should not mean he cannot assert independence or competence in ruling in certain cases, but of course there is that pattern and some quarters are saying who can blame the president for choosing a justice who he perceives to be friendlier," Fajardo told ANC.

"These are really trying times for the court and it is our hope that the Chief Justice can lead the court to decisions that would be seen as protecting independence of the judiciary," he said.

NO CJ CARPIO

Carpio declined the chief justice nomination in 2010 because he opposed last-minute or "midnight" appointments by then outgoing President Arroyo.

That appointment went to the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona, whose appointment was upheld by the SC with Bersamin penning the decision.

Corona was later impeached and convicted by the Senate for misdeclaring his net worth.

Carpio also declined the nomination to replace Sereno this year because he did not want to benefit from the quo warranto decision which he opposed.

An advocate of the 2016 UN arbitral tribunal ruling, Carpio had not relented in his position on the West Philippine Sea despite his candidacy, calling out the government’s supposed inaction on Chinese activities in the area.

As recently as last week, Carpio corrected the President’s claim that China is already in possession of South China Sea.

Despite his stand on the dispute, Carpio told reporters Sunday that he was an "optimist" when asked about his chances or assuming the top post in the Supreme Court.