MANILA, Philippines - The recent Supreme Court ruling favoring the appointment of a new chief justice by President Arroyo drew mixed reactions from the business community on Wednesday.

Makati Business Club executive director Alberto Lim said they were dismayed over the ruling because it violated the Constitution.

The SC, in a vote of 9-1, ruled that President Arroyo can appoint the replacement of retiring Chief Justice Reynato Puno despite a 60-day constitutional ban on midnight appointments before presidential elections.

Essentially, the ruling allows the President 2 more appointments to the High Court.

Lim said it is clear that Mrs. Arroyo has control over the SC, and the SC can be part of a "grand plan" to extend the Chief Executive's term.

Lim also said that the decision worsens the political uncertainty driving investors away from the country.

Meantime, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is not at all worried about the ruling.

According to PCCI chairman emeritus Donald Dee, the ruling should be respected for as long as the judicial process was followed.

But for former Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Peter Wallace, the president should have the decency not to appoint a chief justice in the last few days of her term even if the SC decision favored her. - Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News