MANILA — The Philippine president appointed the country's first female Supreme Court chief justice Friday and praised her ability to lead the court after her predecessor was removed for constitutional violations. President Benigno Aquino was confident Maria Lourdes Sereno will lead “in undertaking much-needed reforms” in the judiciary and “restore our people's confidence in the judicial system” following the first impeachment of a Philippine chief justice, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said. Sereno has been an associate justice on the 15-member tribunal since August 2010 and a former law professor. Now 52, she will serve on the court until retirement at 70. Former chief justice Renato Corona was impeached and convicted in May for not disclosing his $2.4 million bank accounts. Aquino had called Corona an obstacle in his anti-corruption campaign. Sereno was one of the minority members of the court who voted in favor of the Aquino government's order to stop former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from leaving the country allegedly to evade corruption charges. Sereno was one of the eight nominees for chief justice submitted to Aquino by the Judicial and Bar Council. In an unprecedented move to show transparency in choosing the chief justice, the council conducted a televised interview of all 20 aspirants to the post and took questions from the public via Twitter and Facebook. — AP
