Lawyers ask Supreme Court to cite Larry Gadon, others in contempt

Several lawyers, accompanied by supporters of the Duterte family, filed separate petitions asking the Supreme Court (SC) to cite in contempt critics of its ruling that barred the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. 

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio filed his petition for indirect contempt against Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon, while Atty. Mark Tolentino and Rolex Suplico filed a similar petition against political analyst Richard Heydarian and Akbayan Representative Percival Cendaña.

Topacio said he filed the petition over Gadon calling the SC a "tuta (lapdog)" of the Dutertes. 

"I was scandalized to be candid. Sapagkat, bagamat mayroon tayong freedom of expression, and sometimes I also criticize some decisions of the Court, there should be boundaries. Kapag ganoon na pong masyadong vitriolic na… masyadong maangas na. Libelous na po 'yun eh. Hindi po natin maaaring palampasin," Topacio said in an ambush interview.

(I was scandalized to be candid. Because, although we have freedom of expression, and sometimes I also criticize some decisions of the Court, there should be boundaries. When it becomes that vitriolic… too arrogant. That's already libelous. We cannot let that pass.)

In an interview prior to the fourth State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. last Monday, Gadon slammed the High Court for its decision declaring the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte as unconstitutional and null and void. 

The SC said the Articles of Impeachment are barred by the one-year rule under Article XI Section 3(5) of the Constitution.

Further, the high court also found that the Articles of Impeachment violate due process of law, saying that the draft and its evidence were not made available to Duterte, denying her the opportunity to be heard by the members of the House of Representatives.

"'Yun na nga 'yung Senate hearing, 'yun na nga 'yung magbibigay ng due process. Because that is precisely the trial. So anong pinagsasabi ng SC? Talaga kasing maka-Duterte sila… Wag na tayong magpaligoy-ligoy pa. Ang SC, tuta ng mga Duterte," Gadon said.

(Exactly, that's the Senate hearing, that's what provides due process. Because that is precisely the trial. So what is the SC saying? They're really pro-Duterte… Let's not beat around the bush. The SC is a lapdog of the Dutertes.)

'Framed as beholden'

Meanwhile, in their petition, Tolentino and Suplico noted Heydarian's Facebook post saying Duterte appointed majority of the justices of the SC. They said this "deliberately and maliciously framed the justices as beholden to President Rodrigo Duterte."

On the other hand, Cendaña said the SC reduced itself to "being the Supreme Coddler of Sara Duterte."

The Akbayan representative stood by his statement, saying moves to cite him in contempt is a Duterte "modus operandi" to silence legitimate criticisms.

"In that moment, given the political context, I stand by that very apt description. It is a description of the moment. Sa dulo kasi, huwag nating gamitin itong mga ingay na ito for the Supreme Court to do the right thing, and that is to stand by the Constitution (In the end, this noise should not get in the way of the Supreme Court from doing the right thing, and that is to stand by the Constitution)," Cendaña told reporters.

"If this is the consequence of making the Vice President accountable over misuse of public funds and abuse of power, then it's all worth it," Cendaña added.

For his part, Gadon said he understood why Topacio filed a contempt case against him for supposedly "telling the truth" about the ruling. He also challenged Topacio to a one-on-one singing competition as a fund raising initiative, similar to the boxing match between Davao City Sebastian "Baste" Duterte and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Nicolas Torre III.

This was rejected by Topacio.

Meanwhile, Heydarian said he has "full confidence in our highest court and respected justices not to bother with such frivolity."

"While it's true that the majority of our Supreme Court justices were appointed by the former president, it's unfair to make any automatic inferences about their decision-making," he said in a statement, citing his column in a news organization. — with a report from Llanesca T. Panti/ VDV, GMA Integrated News