SENATE President Vicente C. Sotto III dismissed a petition for indirect contempt filed against him by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio and others as a “nuisance suit” with no legal or factual basis, calling it a mere publicity stunt.
In a press statement Sotto said: “The recent petition for indirect contempt filed against me by Atty. Topacio is a nuisance suit. It has no legal or factual basis. It is a mere publicity stunt.”
He added: “Simply expressing a disagreement or the mere act of criticizing the decision of the courts cannot constitute indirect contempt. As a lawyer, Atty. Topacio should know this. He has a long record of publicly criticizing court decisions that are unfavorable to his clients.”
Sotto said that under Rule 71 of the Rules of Court, indirect contempt requires conduct committed outside the court that “actually tends to impede, obstruct, or degrade the administration of justice.”
“I did not do any of those acts. I simply expressed a disagreement with the court decision. That is protected speech under Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution,” he said.
Sotto said the Supreme Court has held that criticizing judges or court rulings is punishable only when the remarks create a “clear and present danger” to the administration of justice—meaning they pose an immediate threat of disrupting court proceedings or weakening the courts’ ability to do their work—citing In re: Kelly (G.R. No. 11715, December 21, 1916; 35 Phil. 944).
He also cited another ruling, saying: “Also, in the case of Estrada v. Desierto the Supreme Court ruled that courts are not immune from criticism and are expected to withstand dissent in a democratic system.”
Sotto said he would formally respond to the petition once asked to do so by the Supreme Court.
In earlier comments included in the statement, Sotto questioned selective targeting, stating: “… what about those who are aligned with my opinion such as: Retired SC Justice Adolfo S. Azcuna Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino UP College of Law Assoc Dean Paolo Emmanuel S. Tamase Atty. Wilfredo Garrido Law Dean Mel Sta. Maria Manolo Quezon III and others that pointed out the factual errors of the decision and the possibility of a judicial legislation? Ako lang ba?”
The post Contempt raps nuisance suit — Sotto appeared first on Journal News Online.
