Choice of chief GMA counsel down to 2?

At least two high-caliber lawyers are being considered to succeed outgoing Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Antonio Nachura, who will assume the post of solicitor general next week.

A Palace official said among the candidates to succeed Nachura are Government Corporate Counsel Agnes Devanadera and former Leyte congressman Sergio Apostol, a former member of President Arroyo’s consultative commission on Charter change.

Nachura, who was appointed chief presidential legal counsel only last Feb. 6, will replace Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo, who resigned last week effective April 1 without citing a specific reason.

There were reports that the President was irked by Benipayo’s opposing opinion on the controversial Proclamation 1017, which declared a state of national emergency last month. But Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Benipayo merely wanted to return to private law practice.

Nachura was appointed solicitor general last Friday. He and Benipayo are contenders for the post of Supreme Court associate justice.

Malacañang said Nachura would slowly take over Benipayo’s functions starting this week to ensure a smooth transition since the government is handling high-profile and sensitive cases, including defending the constitutionality of Proclamation 1017 before the Supreme Court and the expropriation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 before international arbitration courts.

Nachura said he will meet with Benipayo on Thursday because the latter would be in Cebu until Wednesday.

As a congressman, Nachura was a member of the House of Representatives’ prosecution panel during the impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada in 2000.

He also served at the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports as undersecretary for legal affairs and legislative liaison from 1994 to 1998 and as commissioner of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board from 1993 to 1994.

Nachura served as chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments.

He topped the Bar exam after graduating with honors from the San Beda College of Law. He became a law professor in his alma mater and in seven other colleges and universities. He was dean of the Arellano University’s law school from 1992 to 1994. — Paolo Romero