MANILA, Philippines??We have heard of the ouster moves, but we don?t know where they are coming from.?

This was what Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez said on Saturday when contacted for comment on talk that Chief Justice Reynato Puno was the subject of an ouster move.

But when asked if there was such a move, Marquez said: ?Yes, there is.?

The talk is that Puno is in danger of being impeached by Congress over the reported nonpromulgation of a purported en banc decision of the Supreme Court dated July 15, 2008, upholding the disqualification of Negros Oriental Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong.

Asked what could possibly constitute grounds to impeach the Chief Justice, Marquez made reference to the Limkaichong case.

He said Puno was ?accused of sitting on that case and of not promulgating the decision despite the signature of 14 other justices.?

Marquez said the accusation was ?totally baseless.? He said the high court had already issued a resolution saying that it was not Puno but the high court en banc who had decided that the ruling ?should not be promulgated because it was still being deliberated upon.?

Limkaichong had lodged a petition in the high court assailing a ruling by the Commission on Elections favoring Olivia Paras, the wife of former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto ?Jing? Paras, who placed second to Limkaichong in the 2007 polls.

But in a resolution written by Associate Justice Ruben Reyes and subsequently adopted by 13 other justices except Puno, the high court upheld the Comelec ruling.

Asked for comment regarding the purported ouster move on Puno, Jacinto Paras denied knowledge of the matter.

A lawyer and a stalwart of Ms Arroyo?s party, the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), he also said he was not behind any impeachment move.

?I?m not aware of any move to impeach the Chief Justice because I?m not privy to what?s going on,? he said on the phone.

Limkaichong won by 7,746 votes over Olivia Paras in the 2007 polls. The third placer was Jerome Paras, elder brother of Jacinto Paras and himself a former congressman.

But a court insider said there was ?loud? talk that there will be a privilege speech on the issue on Jan. 19, when Congress opens.

?That?s the plan? the insider said. ?OUr reading is that impeachment case will be filed, but we don?t think it will prosper.?

Case ?worth studying?

Asked if the purported unpromulgated resolution of the high court on the electoral case could fuel an impeachment attempt on Puno, Jacinto Paras said: ?That can be a ground, but I?m not aware of an impeachment. We have nothing to do with the impeachment move.?

He said he was still considering the appropriate action to take: ?This is worth studying?a controversial case.?

Asked if he would support such a drastic move, he said: ?I?m still studying it [because] for all I know there?s basis for that. At the moment, I have not come out with my legal study of the controversy. We have not reached the angle of impeachment yet.?

Jacinto Paras distanced himself from a purported advertisement assailing Puno?s supposed inaction on the case of Olivia Paras, and that would purportedly see print on Monday in another newspaper.

?I?m still thinking about it. But I don?t know where you got that story,? he said.

The former lawmaker said he could not comment on the high court?s resolution because he had no personal knowledge of the deliberations in the high court.

Petitioner

?I cannot comment on it right now because I?m not privy to what?s going on, although I have read the resolution of the Supreme Court and the compliance of petitioner Mr. Biraogo to that resolution,? Jacinto Paras said.

?But if it is true?they have already admitted that they have a unanimous decision signed by 14 justices?let justice take its own course,? he said.

Contacted by phone, Louis C. Biraogo, whose petition had been consolidated by the high court with those lodged by Renald Villando and Olivia Paras, told the Inquirer that he came to know of the resolution through a letter, with a copy of the supposed resolution attached, from an ?anonymous court employee.?

Biraogo has been asked by the high court to explain why he should not be punished for making public an internal communication of the tribunal.

Rumors

Even a retired Supreme Court justice said ?there were rumors going around? that Puno would be impeached.

The retired justice, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject, said he had not seen documents but that it was a serious matter: "Malalim ito.?

Asked if Malacañang would want Puno out of the high court, and why, the retired justice said: ?To be able to name a new chief justice, so GMA (President Macapagal-Arroyo) can appoint a new chief justice now.

?If Puno stays, he retires only in May 2010. The Constitution bars the President from appointing anyone 60 days prior to the [May 2010] election up to the end of her term.?

To the question of whether the Palace would want a ?friendlier? chief justice and one who will allow Charter change (Cha-cha), the retired justice said: ?And one who would be in office even after 2010 in case Cha-cha fails.? With a report from Michael Lim Ubac and Juliet Labog-Javellana