Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta on Monday, March 22, bid farewell to his fellow justices, court officials and employees in the judiciary during his last flag raising ceremony at the Supreme Court (SC).
Peralta is set to retire on March 27 or a year earlier than his compulsory retirement on March 27, 2022 at age 70, the mandatory retirement age for members of the judiciary.
He was appointed SC associate justice on Jan. 23, 2009. On Oct. 23, 2019 he was appointed chief justice by President Duterte. He took over the post from retired Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin.
Portions of Peralta’s message:
“In a few days, I will be retiring from the Supreme Court, after working for the past half a century -- 34 years of which were spent serving the Judiciary.
“I cannot help but feel a tinge of sadness, as I will be leaving the realm of public service and my beloved Supreme Court, which has been my second home for the past 12 years.
“To say that the past year had been a difficult one is beyond an understatement. In both the personal and professional aspects of our lives, we all have had to deal with the numerous repercussions of this global health crisis we are still facing.
“I and my fellow Justices of the Court had the unenviable task of drawing up COVID-19-related policies and measures for implementation in the courts nationwide, not only for the safety and welfare of the Judiciary’s 29,000-strong employees, but for those of all court users as well.
“To this end, I can say with confidence that we, the members and officials of the Supreme Court, have done everything within our authority to address all judicial concerns and protect everyone’s well-being to the best of our abilities.
“We have proven that with our determination and willingness to adopt innovations, this pandemic is not and will never be an obstacle in the fulfillment of our sworn duties as public servants. We have all led, and lived, by example.”
Citing accomplishments during his term as head of the judiciary, Peralta said:
“Under my helm, the Supreme Court has formulated and approved 18 procedural rules and guidelines meant to improve the administration of justice and address the problem of clogged court dockets.
“We have restructured and streamlined the plantilla of various offices, divisions, and services of the Court so as to guarantee security of tenure for the employees and to improve our processes.
“We have established the Judiciary Public Assistance Section, or JPAS, to promptly receive and act on concerns, issues, suggestions, and other relevant matters including complaints against erring court officials and employees.
“We have also formally organized the Judicial Integrity Board to further prevent and curb corruption in the Judiciary.
“In addition to these procedural and institutional reforms, the past year saw the Supreme Court addressing the various concerns and issues related with the task of judicial administration that were necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We thus issued Administrative Circulars adopting measures to protect the safety and health of the court employees and court users, such as the daily court operations with skeleton staffing; restricting entry into Halls of Justices to only those with official business; reinforcing physical distancing within court premises; the constant sanitation of court premises and monitoring of the health of our court personnel; the restructuring of various face-to-face training programs and activities of the Court into hybrid or blended learning platforms; and the conduct of online trials and hearings in all the courts.”