SECOND District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil said he supports the decision of President Duterte in appointing Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita de Castro as the new chief justice.
Bataoil said Malacañang was right to observe seniority and dismissed the notion that it is "pambayad ng utang" (reward for a debt of gratitude).
Bataoil, a retired police general, said he grew up in an organization that respects seniority in the military and in the police.
"When you are senior and you have no disqualification, and you have the capability to manage and to serve and to lead, why don't you be given that opportunity to serve?" Bataoil said.