Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura felt honored and privileged to have been personally handpicked by outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to administer her oath of office as representative of Pampanga’s second district in Congress.

At the 109th anniversary of the Office of the Solicitor General held at the World Trade Center last Wednesday night, Nachura disclosed that he received a phone call from the President inviting him to swear her in on June 30 in her home province.

“Of course, I’m privileged,” Nachura replied when asked how he felt as having been chosen to administer the oath to the first President in Philippine history to be elected as congresswoman after serving in the highest office of the land.

Nachura, himself a former congressman representing Samar, was a key Arroyo ally who actively pushed the impeachment of former President Joseph Estrada in 2000.

It was Mrs. Arroyo who appointed him to the High Court on Jan. 31, 2009. He will retire on June 13, 2011 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

In 1998, Nachura was elected congressman in the House of Representatives, representing the the second district of Samar. He served in the 11th and 12th Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the 13th Congress. (Edmer Panesa)