SC to OSG: Comment on Sereno’s appeal
THE Supreme Court (SC) has directed the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to comment on the motion filed by ousted former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno seeking the reversal of the Court’s May 11 decision nullifying her appointment to the Judiciary’s top post in 2012.
SC Spokesman Theodore Te said the order was issued during the regular en banc session of the magistrates.
“In the matter of GR 237428 (Republic of the Philippines represented by Solicitor General Jose Calida v. Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno) the Court directed the Solicitor General to comment on respondent’s ad cautelam motion for reconsideration within a non-extendible period of five days from notice,” the Court said in its resolution.
After the submission of the OSG’s comment, the Court is expected to rule on Sereno’s motion for reconsideration also within this month, upon the return of its ponente, Associate Justice Noel Tijam from his sabbatical leave or service incentive leave. Joel R. San Juan
Child rights bill passed on 3rd reading
The House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading a bill that provides protection to children during armed conflict.
House Bill 7442, or the “Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act,” principally authored by Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City, seeks to implement the protection guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, its Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and all other core human-rights treaties.
The bill, which was approved by 232 lawmakers, opposed by 7, and with no abstention, will be transmitted to the Senate for its own deliberation. HB 7422 defines “child” as a person below 18 years old or older but is unable to fully take care of and protect himself from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination; and unable to act with discernment because of physical or mental condition. Jose Oscar Magpusao