Maria Lourdes Sereno facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Lourdes Sereno
|
|
|---|---|
Sereno acting as chief justice
|
|
| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines | |
| In office August 25, 2012 – May 11, 2018 On leave from March 1 – May 9, 2018 |
|
| Appointed by | Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Renato Corona |
| Succeeded by | Teresita de Castro |
| 169th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines | |
| In office August 13, 2010 – August 25, 2012 |
|
| Appointed by | Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Renato Corona |
| Succeeded by | Marvic Leonen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Maria Lourdes Punzalan Aranal
July 2, 1960 Manila, Philippines |
| Education | Ateneo de Manila University (BA) University of the Philippines Diliman (LLB, MA) University of Michigan (LLM) |
Maria Lourdes "Meilou" Aranal-Sereno (born July 2, 1960) is a Filipina lawyer and judge. She served as the top judge of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2012 to 2018. This role is called the Chief Justice.
She was first appointed as an associate justice by President Benigno Aquino III in August 2010. In August 2012, she became the Chief Justice at age 52. This made her the second youngest person to hold this important position. She is also known as the first woman to lead a judicial branch in any country in Southeast Asia.
Sereno was later removed from her position by a decision from the Supreme Court itself. This happened because of a legal request called a quo warranto petition. This petition questioned if her appointment as Chief Justice was valid from the start.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Maria Lourdes Sereno was born on July 2, 1960, in Manila, Philippines. Her father, Margarito Aranal, was from Siasi, Sulu, and her mother, Soledad Punzalan, was a public school teacher from Bay, Laguna.
She was a very good student from a young age.
- She graduated as salutatorian (second highest in her class) from Kamuning Elementary School in 1972.
- She graduated with honors from Quezon City High School in 1976.
A scholarship helped her attend the Ateneo de Manila University. She chose to study Economics and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980. She then studied law at the College of Law at the University of the Philippines Diliman. She finished her Bachelor of Laws degree in 1984, graduating with high honors (cum laude) and as the top student (class valedictorian). She passed the bar exam that same year and became a lawyer in 1985.
She continued her studies, earning a Master of Arts in economics in 1992 from the University of the Philippines School of Economics. She then earned a Master of Laws from the University of Michigan Law School in 1993.
Career Highlights
Before the Supreme Court
Sereno began her legal career at a well-known law firm called Sycip Salazar Feliciano and Hernandez.
When she was 38, she became a legal counselor at the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body Secretariat in Geneva. This was a big international role.
She was the only woman on the 1999 Preparatory Commission on Constitutional Reform. She led the commission's Steering Committee. In the same year, she helped start Accesslaw. This company created the first electronic research system for Philippine law.
She also worked as a lawyer for many government offices. These included the Office of the President and the Office of the Solicitor General. She also taught law at the University of the Philippines College of Law for 19 years.
Before joining the Supreme Court in 2010, Sereno was the executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center. She also worked as a consultant for important international groups like the United Nations and the World Bank.
Supreme Court of the Philippines
Associate Justice (2010–2012)
In August 2010, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Sereno as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was the 169th member of the court and the first person President Aquino appointed to this high court. Sereno was the 13th woman to become a justice of the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice (2012–2018)
On August 24, 2012, President Aquino announced that Sereno would be the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. She took over from Renato Corona, who had been removed from office earlier that year.
As Chief Justice, Sereno made important decisions. She voted against some proposals, such as declaring martial law and burying a former president in a special cemetery.
Removal from Office
In August 2017, some members of the House of Representatives started a process to remove Chief Justice Sereno. This process is called impeachment. At the same time, the Solicitor General filed a quo warranto petition. This legal action asked the Supreme Court to declare her appointment as Chief Justice invalid.
Both the impeachment process and the quo warranto petition claimed that Sereno did not properly declare her wealth and properties. This declaration is called a Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN). Sereno argued that she could only be removed through impeachment, not through a quo warranto petition.
Sereno took a leave from work on March 1, 2018, but she said she would not resign. On May 11, 2018, the Supreme Court justices voted 8–6 to remove Sereno from her position based on the quo warranto petition. This decision meant her appointment was considered invalid from the very beginning (ab initio).
Sereno asked the court to reconsider its decision, but the request was denied on June 19, 2018. After her removal, Senior Justice Antonio Carpio became the acting Chief Justice. Later, on August 25, 2018, Teresita de Castro was appointed as the new Chief Justice by President Rodrigo Duterte.
After Her Time as Chief Justice
After being removed from her position, Sereno continued to be involved in public discussions and advocacy. She now serves as the Chairperson of the Legal Advisory and Public Policy Review Commission of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches. In this role, she focuses on legal and policy issues that affect Filipino communities.
Sereno is also part of the National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution. This group has started an initiative called Project Dalisay.
Personal Life
Maria Lourdes Sereno is married to Mario Jose E. Sereno from Davao City. They have two children, named Maria Sophia and Jose Lorenzo.
Awards
- Awardee for Law, The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS), 1998
Images for kids
-
Sereno at Andres Narvasa's funeral in 2013
-
Sereno addressing supporters after a decision was made on the quo warranto petition filed against her on May 11, 2018.
