SC fines ex-lawmaker for contempt

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) recently found former Davao del Sur congressman Marc Douglas Cagas IV guilty of indirect contempt and ordered him to pay P20,000 for saying there was deceit in the resolution of a case he filed against the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The resolution was penned by SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and was concurred by Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Serreno and 12 associate justices while Associate Justice Arturo Brion was on leave.

In an eight-page resolution, the SC declared Cagas guilty of two counts of indirect contempt of court. He was fined P10,000 for each offense, or a total of P20,000 and warned that a repetition of the act would warrant a more severe penalty.

The SC decision stemmed from Cagas alleged exploitation of Court Administrator Midas Marquez’s position and for writing defamatory statements against the court in general and the ponente in particular, in his letter to Marquez.

“The making of contemptuous statements directed against the court is an abuse of the right to free speech and degrades the administration of justice. Hence, the defamatory statements in the letter impaired public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and not just of the potente alone,” the SC said.

Cagas of Digos City, Davao del Sur, reportedly asked the SC to prohibit the Comelec from conducting a plebiscite for the creation of the province of Davao Occidental. 

The SC last year dismissed Cagas’ petition for lack of merit and ruled the Comelec did not commit abuse of discretion when it held the plebiscite on Oct. 28, 2013.

Voters ratified the creation of the province of Davao Occidental and the incumbent officials of Davao del Sur would administer the new province until a new set of officers would be elected.

On Nov. 11, Marquez received a letter from Cagas citing the “level of deceitfulness of whoever wrote the decision. It can poison the minds of the law students.”

The SC reminded Cagas that its decision is always collegial and unanimous.