Topacio asks SC to cite Sarah Elago for indirect contempt

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio on Friday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to cite Gabriela party-list Representative Sarah Elago for indirect contempt for disclosing the filing of a disbarment case against him in an internal advisory and repeatedly discussing the disbarment case.

In March, Elago confirmed that she filed a disbarment complaint against a lawyer but refused to identify him, citing the confidentiality of the bar proceedings.

In his petition, however, Topacio cited an advisory to the press where his name was mentioned as well as news stories that identified him. He stated that although she did not name him, she “made it clear that it was the petitioner she was referring to."

“Ang disbarment complaint po ay confidential in our rules of court sapagkat ito po ay nakakasira sa reputasyon ng isang abugado na hindi pa man nahahatulan kung may kasalanan o hindi,” he said in an ambush interview.

(The disbarment complaint is confidential under our rules of court because it can damage the reputation of a lawyer who has not yet been judged as guilty or not.)

“Kapag nilabag ninyo po ‘yang confidentiality rule ay dapat po kayo managot,” he added.

(If you violate that confidentiality rule, you should be held accountable.)

Elago said she filed the case for the lawyer’s disrespectful and obscene remarks against her, saying such comments are meant to degrade and silence women.

Topacio, meanwhile, said that he did not intend to be disrespectful, and his remarks were “part of a passionate exchange of ideas.”

For its part, the Gabriela Women’s Party said the filing is “pathetic and politically motivated.”

“After making misogynistic and degrading remarks against her, Topacio now seeks to play the victim and use legal threats to divert attention from his own conduct and accountability,” it said.

“This latest threat is clearly a political attack intended to intimidate a progressive woman legislator who has consistently exposed corruption, challenged abuse of power, defended human rights, and advanced the rights and welfare of women and the marginalized,” it added. —AOL, GMA News