President Rodrigo Duterte has chosen Supreme Court Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo as the next Chief Justice, officials said on Friday.

"As far as I know," said Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo in a Viber message when asked of Gesmundo's appointment.

Another reliable source said, "it's true" when asked of the same question.

However, the source said there was no official paper being released yet.

Gesmundo will succeed former Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta who availed of an early retirement on March 27.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, for his part, could not make any confirmation.

"As a matter of SOP (standard operating procedure), judicial appointments are confirmed by my office only after they have been received by the Supreme Court. Given the long holiday, the earliest a judicial appointment can be received by the Court would be this Monday," he told reporters. Celerina Monte/DMS