MANILA, Philippines – Tinawag na publicity stunt ni Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III ang indirect contempt case na inihain ng ilang mambabatas kabilang si Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, sa Supreme Court (SC), laban sa kanya.
“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,” saad sa pahayag ni Sotto.
“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,” dagdag ng Senate chief.
Nitong Biyernes, Pebrero 13, naghain si Topacio kasama ng iba pang abogado ng petisyon na humihiling sa SC na i-cite si Sotto sa indirect contempt sa mga kritisismo ng senador sa ruling ng SC kaugnay sa Articles of Impeachment na inihain laban kay Vice President Sara Duterte.
Naunang sinabi ni Sotto na ang 1987 Constitution ay “amended unconstitutionally” sa pamamagitan ng umano’y overreach ng SC.
Aniya, aabutin ng ilang dekada bago maitama ang “misinterpretation” na ito.
Ito ay kasunod ng “denied with finality” ng SC sa motion for reconsideration na inihain ng Kamara na humihiling na baliktarin ang desisyon na nagdeklara sa Articles of Impeachment laban kay Duterte bilang unconstitutional.
Ani Topacio, ang petisyon ay hindi upang patahimikin si Sotto sa pagsasabing “he’s free to say what he wants as long as it does not violate the Rules on Contempt and what is permissible to say.”
“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,” ayon naman kay Sotto.
“In the early case of In re: Kelly, the Supreme Court ruled that criticism of judicial acts is punishable only when it poses a clear and present danger to the administration of justice,” dagdag pa ng Senate president.
Tinukoy din ni Sotto ang kaso ng “Estrada v. Desierto,” kung saan nanindigan ang Korte Suprema na ang mga korte ay hindi ummune sa kritisismo.
“I will formally respond to the petition once I am asked to do so by the Supreme Court,” ayon pa kay Sotto. RNT/JGC
