The Supreme Court has directed embattled Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba and his lawyers to explain why they should not be cited in contempt regarding the suits they filed in connection with a House inquiry.
In a statement on Thursday, the Tribunal said during its en banc deliberations on August 29, it has ruled to require Mamba and his counsels to explain why they should not be held in contempt for failing to disclose to the court supervening events in his case, including the fact that he had surrendered to the Congress committee investigating him.
A legislative inquiry is being conducted by the House of Representatives Committees on Public Accounts and Suffrage and Electoral reforms over allegations of illegal campaign spending raised in resolutions filed by Cagayan Rep. Joseph Lara, whose spouse ran and lost to Mamba in the gubernatorial race in the 2022 polls.
The House ruled to detain Mamba for contempt following reports that he refused to authorize the travel of his employees to attend the House hearing earlier this month.
Mamba filed a petition before the SC and subsequently obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Tribunal to stop his detention by the House body.
However, the High Court noted that “based on various news reports, petitioner voluntarily surrendered to respondents (Congress) without promptly informing the Court of such supervening development” and that “the foregoing effectively rendered nugatory” the TRO it issued.
“The Court, before acting on the manifestation and motion to withdraw (the) petition (filed by Mamba) , resolved to require petitioner Manuel M. Mamba and his counsels, i.e., Macalintal Law Office, to show cause why they should not be disciplinarily dealt with or held in contempt for acts that constitute “abuse of or any unlawful interference with the processes or proceedings of a court not constituting direct contempt” and/or “improper conduct tending, directly or indirectly, to impede, obstruct, or degrade the administration of justice” within ten (10) days from notice,” it said. (PNA)
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