MANILA, Philippines - Producers of the Sunday gabfest ?The Buzz? will pick from among Ai Ai delas Alas, Angel Locsin, Gretchen Barretto and Charlene Gonzalez as temporary replacement for suspended host Cristy Fermin, Inquirer learned on Friday.

Former ?The Buzz? host Kris Aquino, who used to pinch-hit for vacationing hosts, has sent word that she can?t make it this Sunday, said supervising producer Roxy Liquigan.

?We were caught off guard,? Liquigan said of the statement released Wednesday afternoon by ABS-CBN management, announcing Fermin?s suspension from ?The Buzz? and her daily radio program ?Showbiz Mismo? on dzMM. ?We?re thinking of a different [replacement] each week.?

Noting that ?The Buzz? was ?content-driven,? Liquigan said he was confident that hosts Boy Abunda and Ruffa Gutierrez could handle the show on their own. ?We also count on Jobert (Sucaldito) and Phoemela (Baranda) to help,? Liquigan added.

In a statement, ABS-CBN said Fermin was being suspended until the yearend for violating certain provisions of her contract with the network, through statements she made on the Oct. 5 episode of ?The Buzz.? Fermin?s contract expires on Dec. 31, 2008 as well.

?It was deemed that Ms. Fermin did not conduct herself with due regard to social conventions and public morals,? said the statement. ?Her statements went beyond the bounds of decency as they involved innocent children who are not party to her personal dispute [with former actress Nadia Montenegro].?

On the Oct. 5 episode, Fermin said Montenegro delivered three years ago a baby girl whose father was not the actress? long-time partner, former Caloocan City Mayor Macario ?Boy? Asistio.

The network added: ?Fermin?s statements violated the highest standards of professionalism and journalistic integrity. The act she committed brought her and ?The Buzz? to public disrepute, jeopardizing the name and goodwill of both the show and the network.?

In her Oct. 17 Pilipino Star Ngayon column, Fermin said she merely defended herself from accusations made by Montenegro in media during the week leading to Oct. 5.

Fermin wrote: ?Sa aming pananaw, ?yun lang ang sasapat sa sinabi ni Nadia na wala kaming budhi. Hindi magbabago ang aming paninindigan. (That alone would stand against Nadia?s charge that we had no conscience. We will not waver in our conviction.)?

On Oct. 14, Montenegro filed a complaint before the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board against Fermin on account of the latter?s ?malicious and slanderous? remarks. Montenegro sought Fermin?s suspension from the show.

The former actress told Inquirer on Wednesday she was talking to her lawyers about the possibility of filing libel charges against Fermin.