Doing away with misfits in the judiciary would be among the priorities of newly-installed Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta as he attended his first flag raising ceremony at the Supreme Court (SC) New Building courtyard along Padre Faura in Ermita, Manila.

In his speech after the rites, the country’s 26th top magistrate said he will see to it that the rule of law will always be upheld. He encouraged everyone to be guided by the motto, “Let us be united and let us follow the rules.”

Among the items in his 10-point agenda would be to weed out corrupt judges and court personnel of the judiciary.

He said he will continue and adopt a system where the court may initiate on its own the investigation of cases being handled by members of the judiciary even in the absence of complaints.

The new chief justice has been advocating for the application of the res ipsa loquitur principle, where decisions that appear irregular on its face shall be automatically investigated without the need for a complaint.

In attendance during the event were SC Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, CJ Peralta’s wife and Court of Appeals Associate Justice Fernanda Lampas-Peralta, SC Associate Justices Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Rosmari D. Carandang, Andres B. Reyes, Jr., Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa and Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe.