CJ Sereno lives in another world of her own imagining

THE obstinacy of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to cling leechlike to office, regardless of all consideration, is not the first instance of a Filipino public official embarrassing herself and her family with their slavish attachment to their post. It’s a spectacle that occurs in every presidential administration. So much so that many suspect that the trait is a Filipino cultural failing.

In May 1989, when Mr. Ehei Aoki, a confidential aide to Japanese Prime Minister Takeshita, committed suicide when his chief was forced to resign, the local magazine Mr & Ms drew a rueful comparison between Japan and the Philippines (May 16, 1989). It commented: