Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who will end her presidential term on June 30, has appointed Supreme Court Associate Justice Renato C. Corona to replace Chief Justice Reynato Puno when the latter retires on May 17, presidential palace Malacanang announced on Wednesday.

"The President(Arroyo) has chosen Supreme Court Associate Justice Renato Corona to be the next Chief Justice when incumbent Chief Justice Reynato Puno retires May 17. Justice Corona is the most senior SC justices among the four nominees of the Judicial and Bar Council(JBC)," presidential spokesperson Ricardo Saludo said in a statement.

The other JBC nominees are Supreme Court Associate Justices Teresita J. Leonardo de Castro and Arturo D. Brion, and acting Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Edilberto G. Sandoval.

Saludo said that Corona would assume his new post upon Puno's retirement.

Asked to comment on the threat of Sen. Benigno Aquino III, who is leading in the presidental race of the 2010 General Elections, that he will seek clarification on whether the appointment of the new Chief Justice is only in an acting capacity, Saludo stressed that Corona's appointment will not be in an acting capacity.

"He(Corona) will take over when Puno is no longer Chief Justice. No need to be acting. We expect all officials to respect the Supreme Court ruling that President Arroyo can appoint the next Chief Justice," he said.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar noted that "the permanent appointment of Justice Corona is supported by the High Court's recent decision as well as by judicial precedent and necessity and Corona 's own seniority and credentials."

"How the president-elect(Aquino) chooses to handle this will clearly be his own prerogative and decision to make," Olivar said.

According to his profile posted on the Supreme Court of the Philippines website, Corona is one of the youngest to be appointed to the High Court at the age of 53 on April 9, 2002.

"His age notwithstanding, he brings with him depth and perspective gained from many years of experience as a law professor, private law practitioner and member of the Cabinet under two Presidents, Fidel V. Ramos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo," his profile said.

Corona obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1970, and his Bachelor of Laws at the Ateneo Law School in 1974 where he finished fifth in his class. He ranked 25th out of 1,965 candidates in the bar examinations.

After law school, he pursued a Master of Business Administration course (without thesis) at the Ateneo Professional Schools; in 1982 he completed his Master of Laws program in Harvard Law School, focusing on foreign investment policies and the regulation of corporate and financial institutions.

He is currently pursuing his doctorate in civil law at the University of Sto. Tomas.

In 1992, then-president Ramos tapped him to be Assistant Executive Secretary for legal affairs and concurrent head of the Malacanang Legal Office, where he solved the backlog of cases, then two years later was promoted to Deputy Executive Secretary and later Presidential Legal Counsel and Cabinet member.

During the Ramos administration, Corona also held concurrent positions as Vice-Chairman of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission; member of the Presidential Committee on Bail, Release and Pardon, the Cabinet Consultative Committee on the Government of the Republic of the Philippines- National Democratic Front (GRP- NDF) Peace Talks, and the Cabinet Committee on National Security; and chair of the Appeals Committee of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Corona served as the chief of staff and spokesman of then-Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 1998, then as Presidential Chief of Staff, presidential spokesman and later as Acting Executive Secretary when Arroyo assumed the presidency on January 20, 2001.

Corona also taught Commercial Law, Taxation and Corporation Law at the Ateneo Law School for 17 years.

The Philippine Supreme Court denied on Apr.20 with finality the appeal to reverse its March 17 ruling allowing Arroyo to appoint the next chief justice.

The court ruled that the selection of Supreme Court justices is not covered by the election period ban, which prohibits an incumbent president from making appointments two months before an election and until his or her term expires.

Applied this year, the election ban started on March 10 and will last until the end of Arroyo's term on June 30. The general elections were held on May 10.

Several motions had been filed asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its March 17 decision. But the court upheld the ruling.