The appointment of Ma. Lourdes Aranal-Sereno as new Supreme Court associate justice shows President Benigno Aquino III's commitment to good governance, Malaca?ang said Sunday “We are pleased with our appointment (of) Justice Sereno. It was a good choice by the president. The legal community was very pleased with the appointment. So I think we are on the road to (good governance) as promised by the president,” Lacierda said on government-run dzRB radio. Before his new appointment, Sereno was executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center. Lacierda said Aquino chose Sereno based on the criteria of probity, integrity and past performance, noting her role in government's legal victory over Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Government had won an arbitration case involving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 before the International Chamber of Commerce-International Court of Arbitration in Singapore. “She was instrumental in our victory over Piatco. Had government lost, it would have had to pay a lot, so the victory meant major savings,” Lacierda said. He also brushed off claims Aquino appointed Sereno because she was his schoolmate at the Ateneo de Manila University. Lacierda said Sereno was one batch ahead of Aquino, and they never became classmates. He said Aquino was from Batch 1981 while Sereno was from Batch 1980. “They see each other at school but only because they were schoolmates. They do not appear to be acquainted,” he said.
