Corona attends Noynoy's inauguration

Despite the controversy surrounding their relationship, Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona attended the inauguration of President-elect Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday. In a text message to GMANews.TV, court spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said: "He [Corona] is here." Marquez added Corona was "seated in front." Aquino had picked Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, instead of Corona, to swear him in as the 15th Philippine president. Last week, Aquino's camp formally invited Corona and the other Supreme Court justices to the inauguration rites. (See: Noynoy formally invites Corona other justices to inauguration) Corona's appointment last month had been controversial because it supposedly fell on the restricted period for midnight appointments. However, the SC ruled that appointments to the chief justice post is exempt from the ban. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMANews.TV