Maria Lourdes Sereno
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 (Tagalog: [sɛˈrɛnɔ]; born Maria Lourdes Punzalan Aranal; July 2, 1960) is a Filipina lawyer and judge who served as de facto chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2012 until 2018.
Appointed as an associate justice by President Benigno Aquino III in August 2010, she became the second youngest person (at the age of 52) to assume the post of chief justice in August 2012. She is considered to be the first woman head of a judicial branch in any Southeast Asian sovereign state.
She was removed from office by way of an 8–6 decision by the Supreme Court over a quo warranto petition, rendering her appointment as chief justice null and void. Sereno had faced criticism from the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte for expressing her criticism of his Philippine Drug War, and some saw the petition as politically motivated. At the same time she was removed from office, Sereno had also been facing an impeachment trial prior to the granting of the petition, but after its granting, such trial became moot and was never scheduled.