Miriam fit to become SC chief - Nachura

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is fit to become the next chief justice of the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Eduardo Nachura said Friday. Nachura said Santiago, a former Quezon City judge, meets all the requirements to become a candidate for the top SC post. "She is very qualified…and I am sure that if she is named chief justice, she will be very fair and would not entertain personal favors," Nachura said in a phone interview with Malacañang reporters. A chief justice, he said, should possess the following qualifications: a member of the Philippine Bar Association, a natural-born Filipino citizen, at least 40 years old and must have been engaged in the law profession for at least 15 years. "Sen. Santiago, before she became senator, was a judge first. She also held the position of Bureau of Immigration commissioner. She kept her law office and practiced her profession when she was not in public service," Nachura said. In the 1992 presidential elections, Santiago narrowly lost to then administration candidate Fidel Ramos. But Nachura said no matter the qualifications of Santiago, her appointment as replacement of Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban would still depend on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Panganiban is scheduled to retire December 7, when he reaches 70-years-old, the mandatory retirement age for all Supreme Court justices. "It is entirely the prerogative of the President. I have faith in the President. It is her discretion whom she wants to appoint. But of course, the appointment would depend on the recommendations of the Judicial and Bar Council," Nachura said. He remained confident Santiago’s political standing as an ally of Malacañang would matter in the President’s decision. Apart from Santiago, those said to be included in the short list of Panganiban’s replacements are Associate Justices Reynato Puno, Leonardo Quisumbing, Consuelo Ynares Santiago, Angelina Sandoval Guttierez and Antonio Carpio. Santiago was nominated by the Young Lawyers Association of the Philippines (YLAP), the same group that nominated her to the top SC post last year. On November 25 last year, the JBC junked the recommendation of the YLAP to include Santiago among the list of candidates for the 21st Chief Justice when it refused to extend the filing of nomination for the post of chief justice. - Joan Dairo, GMANews.TV