Title
Cruz vs. Gingoyon
Case
G.R. No. 170404
Decision Date
Sep 28, 2011
A neighbor's complaint over a basketball goal led to a contempt ruling after unsubstantiated allegations against the judge, upheld by the Supreme Court.
contempt of court
abuse of discretion
due process

Case Summary (G.R. No. 170404)

Factual Background

Petitioner filed a civil complaint for abatement of nuisance against his neighbor, Benjamin Mina, Jr., in Civil Case No. 01-0401 before the RTC of Pasay City seeking a declaration that a basketball goal attached to the second floor of the defendant’s residence and protruding into a public alley constituted a nuisance. The defendant was declared in default, and petitioner presented his evidence ex parte. In a Decision dated October 21, 2005, the trial judge declared the basketball goal a public nuisance but dismissed the action for lack of locus standi, citing Article 701 of the Civil Code and ruling that the action should be commenced by the city or municipal mayor and not by a private individual.

Observations in the Decision

In the same Decision, the trial judge described the general conditions of the neighborhood and the uses to which alleys in that area were commonly put, observing that residents of cramped tenements commonly used alleys for play, laundry, cooking, and vending and advising the plaintiffs to “live and let live.” The Decision contained extended commentary about the nature of life in such alleys and the practical expectations of tolerance among neighbors.

Motion for Reconsideration and Accusation

Petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration in which he challenged—among other matters—the trial judge’s descriptive paragraphs as off tangent and even illegal, and he expressly alleged that the court’s detailed description of the alley indicated that the judge had been communicating with the defendant off the record. Petitioner asked that the motion be heard on November 18, 2005.

Show-Cause Order

In an Order dated November 11, 2005, the trial judge set the motion for hearing on November 18, 2005, and directed petitioner to substantiate his serious charge or show cause on that date why he should not be punished for contempt, stating that the court had not seen or heard the defendant and that petitioner must substantiate the allegation of off-the-record communication.

Failure to Appear and Extension

When petitioner did not appear on November 18, 2005, the trial judge, motu proprio, issued an Order in open court deeming the motion for reconsideration submitted for resolution and granting petitioner a last ten-day period to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt.

Compliance and Reiteration of the Accusation

Petitioner filed a Compliance to the Show-Cause Order in which he reiterated his contention that the trial judge must have communicated with the defendant off the record because the Decision contained an “exact description” of the alley and its activities that, petitioner asserted, were not adduced in evidence during the ex parte presentation.

Contempt Adjudication and Penalty by the RTC

On November 25, 2005, the trial judge issued an Order finding petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of direct contempt of court, sentencing him to suffer two days’ imprisonment and to pay a fine of P2,000.00, and issuing a warrant of arrest on the same date. The trial judge explained that petitioner’s repeated, unsubstantiated accusation that the judge had communicated with the defendant off the record was an act that brought the court into disrepute and amounted to charging the judge with partiality without an iota of proof.

Ex-Parte Motion to Post Bond and Denial

Petitioner filed an Urgent Ex-Parte Motion to Post Bond and Quash Warrant of Arrest on December 1, 2005, asserting that he had already filed a Petition for Certiorari with the Supreme Court pursuant to Rule 71, Section 2. The respondent court denied the Ex-Parte Motion on the ground that petitioner failed to attach proof of the alleged filing with the Supreme Court and thus could not avail himself of the remedy under Section 2, Rule 71.

Subsequent Events and Intervention by the Supreme Court

The trial judge, Judge Gingoyon, was killed on December 31, 2005. On February 1, 2006, the Supreme Court directed the incumbent Judge of Branch 117, Judge Jesus B. Mupas, to submit a comment on the petition, observing that contempt pertains to misbehavior toward the court as an institution and not to judges in their personal capacities.

Issues Presented

Petitioner posed three issues: whether he was guilty of contempt of court; whether the respondent court had enough factual basis to cite him for contempt; and whether the respondent court abused its discretion in denying petitioner’s motion to fix bond. The Court distilled the controversy into two principal questions: whether the respondent court properly adjudged petitioner in direct contempt, and whether the denial of the Ex-Parte Motion amounted to an abuse of discretion.

Petitioner’s Contentions

Petitioner contended that his statements were fair observations and logical inferences based on the trial judge’s detailed description of the alley, that such inferences could not be contemptuous, and that denial of the motion to fix bond violated his right to due process because he had, he claimed, already filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court’s Ruling

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition and affirmed the trial court’s Order adjudging petitioner guilty of direct contempt, but it modified the penalty. The Court retained a fine of P2,000.00 as commensurate with the contemptuous acts and imposed an additional fine of P3,000.00 for petitioner’s repeated failure to comply with the Court’s directives.

Legal Basis for the Contempt Finding

The Court applied Rule 71, Section 1, Rules of Court, which authorizes summary punishment for misbehavior in the presence of or so near a court as to obstruct or interrupt proceedings, including disrespect toward the court, and it reaffirmed precedents that a pleading containing derogatory, offensive, or malicious statements submitted in proceedings pending before the court may constitute direct contempt. The Court relied on authorities such as Atty. Ante v. Judge Pascua and Wicker v. Hon. Arcangel to sustain that pleadings with derogatory allegations against the judge are within the ambit of direct contempt.

Reasons for Finding the Accusation Contumacious

The Court found that petitioner’s allegation that the judge communicated with the defendant off the record was a serious and unsubstantiated charge that attacked the judge’s impartiality and exposed him to possible removal or severe sanction. The Court observed that the trial judge’s descriptive comments were general in nature and reflected common phenomena in similar urban locales, and that the judge had an established familiarity with the area from prior official service. Petitioner’s insistence on the accusation without factual proof amounted to an open accusation of wrongdoing against the judge and therefore constituted direct contempt.

On the Question Whether Justification Excused Contempt

The Court reiterated that, where language is abusive or insulting, proof that the language was justified by the facts is not an admissible defense, citing Salcedo v. Hernandez and related authorities. The Court concluded that petitioner’s claim that his statements were fair observations did not absolve him from contempt because the accusatory tone and lack of factual support offended the dignity of the court.

Denial of the Ex-Parte Motion Properly Affirmed

The Court upheld the respondent court’s denial of the Ex-Parte Motion because petitioner had not, at the time of filing the motion with the respondent court, already filed a petition for ce

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