MAVERICK lawyer Ferdinand Topacio on Tuesday, February 14, 2023, has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to cite retired Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Rowena Guanzon for ‘indirect contempt’ for violating the confidentiality rule on the filing of disbarment cases.
In his petition, Topacio said that Guanzon should be cited in contempt in connection to her repeated posts in her Twitter account announcing her filing of a disbursement complaint against him on June 13, 2021.
He said 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.
The petitioner said the former Comelec official “intentionally and maliciously tweeted in public about the disbarment case she filed against him and even tagged major media organizations.
Topacio added that on the day of the filing of the complaint, Guanzon went overboard when she announced to the media the filing of the disbarment case.
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.”
“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.
The petitioner submitted as evidence a video footage of Guanzon flashing the first page of her petition before the media for the public to see.
Topacio stressed that respondent, in repeatedly tweeting the existence of the disbarment case, and the other cases she filed, appears to insinuate to her followers that the petitioner has already done an unlawful act even if it has not yet been proven in a legal proceeding.
Under the Rules of Court, indirect contempt may be punished by a fine or by imprisonment of six months or both.
Topacio and Guanzon have been at odds after the former filed a graft case before the Office of the Ombudsman against her.
In May 2022, the anti-corruption group, Citizens Crime Watch, chaired by Topacio, likewise sued Guanzon for “unlawfully divulging confidential information” in the disqualification case against then candidate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
On the other hand, aside from the disbarment case, Guanzon also filed a criminal case for unjust vexation against Topacio before a trial court in Bacolod City.