TARLAC CITY, Philippines ? A controversy is in the offing, with presidential front-runner Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III considering being sworn in as President by a barangay captain in his home province, and not by Chief Justice Reynato Puno?s successor.

?[The Constitution] says that before assuming office, the President will subscribe under oath. It does not say [before whom]. I am waiting for my lawyers? opinion, but [my oath of office] will probably be before the barangay captain of Tarlac,? the Liberal Party standard-bearer said Friday at a press conference.

By tradition, a new President takes his/her oath before the Chief Justice.

In the face of the brewing controversy, Congress is set to resume sessions a week earlier than scheduled to start the national canvassing of election results for president and vice president.

Speaker Prospero Nograles told reporters that he and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile have agreed to meet on May 24 for the joint session, ahead of the May 31 scheduled opening.

Aquino?s stance is an apparent show of protest over President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s announcement on Wednesday that she had chosen Associate Justice Renato Corona to succeed Puno, who is to retire on May 17. He had earlier said he would not recognize a Chief Justice named by Ms Arroyo in a ?midnight? appointment.

?There are questions whether I will take my oath before [Corona],? Aquino said. ?I do not want my own oath-taking to be [done] before a questioned entity. There is no requirement [for a President] to take his oath before a Chief Justice. That is primarily a tradition, and not a requirement of law.?

Aquino agreed with Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel?s earlier statement that Ms Arroyo?s appointment of Corona was a cause for war.

?But more than anything, given the fact that she probably assumes she?ll be facing a ton of cases ? she is looking for sympathetic or friendly faces ? I think she did this for personal interest again, rather than national interest,? he said.

Aquino shrugged off the warning on Thursday of Secretary Ricardo Saludo, Ms Arroyo?s spokesperson, that he could face impeachment for snubbing Corona. ?I hope they have read the Constitution,? he said, adding:

?Even if I do not agree with [the Supreme Court?s ruling authorizing Ms Arroyo to appoint a Chief Justice in her final days in office], we are obliged to follow the [high court]. Will that be reviewed? I think so. The presidency is a coequal body. I do not want to start out with any questions upon my assumption of office.?

Reject the appointment

On the other hand, former President Fidel Ramos said Corona should use his ?better judgment? and not accept the post of Chief Justice so as not to ?create a problem? for the incoming administration.

?Although there are no legal barriers, there?s still such a thing as ethics in occupying any position. And if it?s possible to preempt a problem for the future administration, and this is in the hands of the Chief Justice appointed by [Ms Arroyo], then let him exercise his better judgment because there?s such a thing as accepting and not accepting [the post],? Ramos said Friday at the Supreme Court before the start of the retirement ceremony for Puno.

Artemio Panganiban, Puno?s predecessor as Chief Justice, expressed the same stand.

He told reporters that if he were Corona, he would not accept the appointment because the high court erred in authorizing Ms Arroyo to appoint a new Chief Justice during the period of the constitutional ban on appointments starting on March 10.

Replying to other questions, Panganiban said Aquino was well within his rights to disagree to be sworn into office by Corona, to drive home his point that he would not recognize Ms Arroyo?s midnight appointments.

?That?s up to the new President. There?s no provision in the Constitution that compels him to take his oath before somebody,? Panganiban said.

Friendly advice

Ramos said he had nothing against Corona?s qualifications for the post.

He said he was giving advice ?as a friend? to Corona, who served as deputy executive secretary and later as chief legal counsel during his presidency.

He added that Corona stayed on as his spokesperson and chief of staff for a year after his term ended in 1998.

Ramos said Corona?s appointment was ?complicated in terms of the delicadeza (propriety) of it.?

?It might create a problem for the next administration. It might even later color the judgment of the entire court,? he warned.

Ramos said the incoming administration would be inheriting enough problems from the Arroyo administration.

?So why should we continue putting holes in our one and only ship, which we are all [in], when the important thing is to make our ship not only seaworthy but also fast-moving? This is the responsibility of the next administration [because] in the present one, we?re not really moving at all, and even [moving] backward,? Ramos said.

?10 feet taller?

Malacañang, through Ms Arroyo?s deputy spokesperson Charito Planas, took another tack in trying to convince Aquino to be sworn in as President by Corona.

?He can take his oath before a notary public, a judge, or other justices. [But] he will be 10 feet taller if he does it [before Corona],? Planas said Friday at a briefing.

And he will recognize and respect ?the principle of the separation of powers? of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, she added.

Planas conceded that if Aquino were sworn in by someone else, this would not be construed as a non-recognition of Corona.

?There is no provision that says the President-elect shall take his oath before the Chief Justice. Except that, those are nuances,? she said. ?But he will be the only President that has not taken his oath before the Chief Justice.?

Reacting to Aquino?s earlier call that Ms Arroyo reconsider her appointment of Corona and acknowledge the next administration?s right to appoint the Chief Justice, Planas said the senator could not impose on the President.

She also warned Aquino that if he insisted on not recognizing Corona, he would risk dividing the country.

Asked if Aquino?s insistence on not recognizing the next Chief Justice would lead to a constitutional crisis, Planas said: ?Yes, [because] you do not recognize the head of the judicial department ??

Revoke it

Planas also said Aquino could neither nullify Corona?s appointment nor appoint another Chief Justice.

But Pimentel, quoting from an opinion of former Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza that he had read, said Aquino could revoke Corona?s appointment through an executive order.

Pimentel told reporters that Ms Arroyo?s appointment of Corona could be considered ?patently illegal,? and that Aquino could ?correct? it by revoking it.

He said Ms Arroyo was ?guilty? of treating the issue ?frivolously,? and that the Supreme Court decision authorizing her to appoint Puno?s successor should be challenged.

?If we allow the Supreme Court to have its way [on the issue] without challenge, [then we are allowing it] to amend the Constitution,? he said.

Constitutional crisis

Pimentel said Ms Arroyo should reconsider her appointment and that Corona himself should be a ?statesman? and refuse it. Otherwise, he said, the issue could lead to a constitutional crisis, with the new President clashing with Corona.

Pimentel also said Aquino could very well take his oath as President before a barangay captain.

?And I suggest that he do it before the lowliest, to demonstrate his concern for the lowliest section of society,? Pimentel said. With reports from TJ Burgonio and Christine O. Avendaño