Petition cites Guanzon for contempt
Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio has petitioned the Supreme Court to cite former Commission on Elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon for indirect contempt for posting a disbarment case against him on Twitter.
In his 20-page petition filed yesterday, Topacio claimed that Guanzon allegedly intentionally tweeted the disbarment complaint and unjust vexation case against him on 13 June 2022, and even included a video of an interview.
Tweeting the disbarment case damages lawyer’s reputation.
Topacio cited Rule 139-B of the Rules of Court, which says that proceedings against attorneys shall be private and confidential.
He explained that while it is not yet clear if there was a ground for disbarment, the reputation of the lawyer has already been damaged.
“Respondent’s Twitter timeline shows that she has been an active user as seen on her almost daily tweets. Unfortunately, several of them are about her malicious and unnecessary tweets publicizing the disbarment complaint and unjust vexation case against petitioner with the obvious intention of tarnishing his reputation, ”Topacio’s petition read.
Guanzon, for her part, said that Topacio was “being vengeful.”
“He is accused in a criminal case I filed in RTC (Regional Trial Court) Bacolod for unjust vexation. So he is being vengeful,” Guanzon said.
“I also filed a motion in the RTC for judge to order him to stay away from me and not to comment about me or contact me in any manner directly or indirectly,” she added.
Topacio’s petition said that Guanzon intentionally sought media attention by making the case public.