SC fines Cagayan Gov. Mamba, law office P30K for indirect contempt

The Supreme Court en banc has ordered Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba and his counsel, the Macalintal Law Office, to pay a fine of P30,000 for indirect contempt.

According to the SC, this is because Mamba and his counsels failed to justify their filing of a petition for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction, and their subsequent withdrawal of the petition a week after.

“[T]he Court is convinced that Gov. Mamba and Macalintal Law Office should be cited in indirect contempt under Rule 71, Section 3(c) of the Rules of Court,” it said in a 22-page notice.

In August 2023, the House of Representatives cited Mamba in contempt and ordered him detained over his repeated failure to attend the inquiry on alleged illegal expenditures of the local government during the 2022 campaign period.

He later filed a petition before the Supreme Court against the contempt and detention orders issued against him.

Mamba later appeared before the House panels, even though the SC had already blocked the implementation of contempt and detention orders. He apologized for his absences, saying he was swamped with work due to the typhoon that recently hit the province.

He also filed a motion to withdraw his petition, which effectively rendered the TRO nugatory, or of no value.

This led the SC to require him and his counsels to explain why they should not be held in contempt for improper conduct.

In his compliance, Mamba said that he never voluntarily surrendered and that he was already restrained by the police. He said that upon arrival at the House, his lawyers were busy coordinating so that he would not be detained.

Mamba said that the law office opted not to make any manifestation to the SC for lack of material time and perceiving that the events were still unfolding.

However, the Court said it found the compliance unsatisfactory, adding that his allegations in his petition and compliance were inconsistent.

“[I]t can be reasonably deduced that Gov. Mamba’s change of tune in the Compliance is but a flimsy attempt to absolve himself from a contempt citation,” the Court said.

Meanwhile, the Court also directed Mamba to show cause within 20 days why he should not be held in indirect contempt for uttering contemptuous stations against the judiciary in a radio program on separate occasions in April 2022 and during a flag ceremony in August 2023.

GMA News Online has reached out to Mamba’s camp regarding the SC decision but has yet to receive a response as of posting time. — VDV, GMA Integrated News