This is to express my unequivocal support to the confirmation of the ad interim appointment of Mr. Lucas Purugganan Bersamin as Executive Secretary of the Office of the President.
Our appointee is a well-respected jurist who began his career in the judiciary as the presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court and then the youngest RTC judge in Metro Manila at 37.
He then rose to become an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, and later on assumed post as Associate Justice and finally as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the first native from the Cordillera region, specifically from Bangued, Abra, to be appointed to the highest position in the judicial branch of our government. He is also longtime law professor of several premier universities – including UST, Ateneo, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, and University of the East, where he earned his law degree in 1973.
With his stature and many professional accomplishments in public sphere, there is no question that he is qualified for the job. If I may dare say, he is overqualified for the position. We appreciate his coming out of his retirement and lending his expertise, legal acumen and brilliant mind to help this administration fulfil its mandate and promise of a better life to the Filipino people.
We are fortunate that the post of the so-called “Little President” is occupied by a legal titan and an intellectual heavyweight in the person of former Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin. Congratulations! Thank you, Mr. President.