Topacio wants SC to censure Guanzon for her tweets about him
MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio has asked the Supreme Court to cite former elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon for indirect contempt over her tweets about her June 2022 petition to have him disbarred.
Topacio on Tuesday filed the petition before the SC, saying that Guanzon should be cited in contempt for "her repeated acts of maliciously mentioning the disbarment case on her social media account" on Twitter, despite the confidential nature of the proceedings.
"There is no doubt that respondent’s actions were unnecessary and intentionally done to humiliate and tarnish the reputation of [Topacio] publicly," the petition read.
"Specifically assailed in this Petition are the contumacious conduct of respondent through her aforementioned Twitter account in tarnishing the reputation of petitioner in public by maliciously and publicly disclosing for several times the disbarment complaint and unjust vexation case she filed against petitioner," it added.
'Guanzon tweets updates'
Topacio also noted that Guanzon discloses cases she filed against him and tweets updates on them.
The lawyer also noted that an article citing portions of the disbarment petition was also published and "there is clear showing and a genuine reason to believe that it was respondent who maliciously distributed her petition."
He added that while both of them may be public personalities, the disbarment petition stemmed from a private matter. "[T]here is no reason for the media to be involved in publishing the disbarment case against the petitioner," it added.
Under the Rules of Court, indirect contempt may be punished by a fine or by imprisonment of six months or both.
In May 2022, anti-corruption group Citizens Crime Watch, chaired by Topacio, sued Guanzon for "unlawfully divulging confidential information" in the disqualification case against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, who was then a candidate. — Kristine Joy Patag
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