ASSOCIATE Justice Mario Lopez recently presided over the flag-raising ceremony of the Supreme Court in its Baguio City Compound in what would be his final summer session ahead of his retirement in June.
Lopez, who turns 70 on June 4, reflected on his judicial career by recalling his first Baguio summer session in 1981 as a young lawyer for then Associate Justice Juvenal Guerrero.
He narrated the challenges of earlier decades, including the use of manual typewriters, cash salary payments, and limited communication before the advent of cellular phones.
Lopez said when he left the SC in 1983, he had no inkling that he would be returning as an associate justice.
“I left the Supreme Court in 1983 with no inkling that I would be back in this institution, but by a stroke of luck and maybe destiny, on December 5, 2019, I got appointed as the 185th justice of the Supreme Court,” he said in a brief speech after the flag-raising ceremony last April 21.
“My salary may not be the highest in the government agency, but in terms of privileges and benefits, we are on top of the list. Those benefits and privileges carry an obligation; they carry responsibility for us to do public service,” he added.
Lopez was appointed to the post in 2019, replacing Francis Jardeleza, who retired after reaching the mandatory retirement age.
He also touted the reform initiatives undertaken by the SC, including the Strategic Plans for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, which he added, is now 70-80 percent complete.
Lopez also touched on Baguio’s climate, adding he would miss it because it provides a conducive environment for the magistrates to deliberate on cases during their annual summer sessions and the well-being of court employees.
The Judicial and Bar Council has already opened the application for Lopez’s post.
The JBC is the body tasked by the Constitution to vet and screen nominees in the judiciary.
It is headed by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo in an ex-officio capacity, with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Jose Catral Mendoza, Nesauro Firme, Erlinda Pinera Uy, and Jose Mejia as ex-officio members.
