TASK: Paper exploring the contempt power, on the revision of the Omnibus

Rules of Procedure of CHR

ENFORCEMENT OF CONTEMPT POWER

In General
Operation
The existence of an actual case or controversy is a necessary condition
precedent to the court's exercise of its power of adjudication. The power to adjudicate
includes the power to cite person or governmental body in contempt on the basis of legal
grounds as provided by law. of An actual case or controversy exists when there is a
conflict of legal rights or an assertion of opposite legal claims between the parties that
is susceptible or ripe for judicial resolution.

Kinds
A contempt of court can be either civil or criminal. A criminal attachment for
contempt is for disrespectful or contumacious conduct towards the court, and is
punitive. A civil attachment for contempt on the other hand, being remedial, is merely
to compel obedience to an order requiring the payment of money or the doing (or not
doing) of some act for the benefit of the party litigant, and where the party ordered, fails
to obey, not out of disrespect to the court, but for other reasons within his control.1

Contempt power of Quasi-Judicial agencies, if not delegated, must be applied

before courts.

Quasi-judicial agencies that have the power to cite persons for indirect contempt
pursuant to Rule 71 of the Rules of Court can only do so by initiating them in the proper
Regional Trial Court. It is not within their jurisdiction and competence to decide the
indirect contempt cases. These matters are still within the province of the Regional Trial
Courts. In the present case, the indirect contempt charge was filed, not with the Regional

1
EL Taylor Procedure in Contempt Cases, Virginia Law Review, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Jan., 1915),
Trial Court, but with the PARAD, and it was the PARAD that cited Mr. Lorayes with
indirect contempt.2

Rule 71 of the Rules of Court may be applied suppletory.

The substantive issue of whether the order for the arrest of petitioner’s manager,
Mr. Alex Lorayes by the PARAD, was valid, Rule XVIII of the 2003 DARAB Rules reads,
in pertinent part:

Section 2. Indirect Contempt. – The Board or any of its members or its

Adjudicator may also cite and punish any person for indirect contempt on
any of the grounds and in the manner prescribed under Rule 71 of the
Revised Rules of Court.

In this connection, Rule 71, Section 4 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, which
deals with the commencement of indirect contempt proceedings, provides:

Sec. 4. How proceedings commenced. — Proceedings for indirect contempt may

be initiated motu proprio by the court against which the contempt was committed
by an order or any other formal charge requiring the respondent to show cause
why he should not be punished for contempt.

In all other cases, charges for indirect contempt shall be commenced by a verified
petition with supporting particulars and certified true copies of documents or papers
involved therein, and upon full compliance with the requirements for filing initiatory
pleadings for civil actions in the court concerned. If the contempt charges arose out of
or are related to a principal action pending in the court, the petition for contempt shall
allege that fact but said petition shall be docketed, heard and decided separately, unless
the court in its discretion orders the consolidation of the contempt charge and the
principal action for joint hearing and decision.3

2
Land Bank of the Philippines v. Listana, G.R. No. 152611, August 5, 2003
3
Land Bank of the Philippines v. Listana, G.R. No. 152611, August 5, 2003
 xxx xxx xxx

The requirement of a verified petition is mandatory.

Contempt Power of Legislature

Imprisonment period after arrest for contempt not indefinite

The period of imprisonment under the inherent power of contempt by the Senate
during inquiries in aid of legislation should only last until the termination of the
legislative inquiry under which the said power is invoked. In short, the Senate’s inherent
power of contempt ends when its legislative inquiry of a specific issue concludes, or
specifically upon approval or disapproval of the committee report and or upon the
expiration of one Congress.
4

In the same decision, the Supreme Court finds that the period of imprisonment
under the inherent power of contempt by the Senate during inquiries in aid of legislation
should only last until the termination of the legislative inquiry under which the said
power is invoked.5

The charge of contempt by Congress shall be tried before the courts, where the
contumacious witness will be heard. More importantly, it shall indicate the exact penalty
of the offense, which may include a fine and/or imprisonment, and the period of
imprisonment shall be specified.6

RELEVANT LEGAL BASES

RULE 15, CHR OMNIBUS RULES OF 2019 SENATE RULES OF PROCEDURE

PROCEDURE

4
Balag v. Senate, G.R. No 234608, July 03, 2018
5
Balag v. Senate, G.R. No. 234608, July 03, 2018
6
Balag v. Senate, G.R. No. 234608, July 03, 2018
 Section 1. Direct Contempt Punished
Summarily
● A Person guilty of misbehaviour in
the presence of the Commission or
any of its members as to obstruct
or interrupt the proceedings
before it or them, including
disrespect towards the
Commission or its members,
refusal to be sworn as witness
may be summarily adjudged in
contempt by the Commission or
any of its members, and shall be
punished in accordance with the
penalties of the Rules of Court
Section 2. Indirect Contempt
● After a show cause order charge in
writing has been filed by the
Commission or its members as the
case may be, and an opportunity
given to the respondent to be
heard by himself/herself or
counsel, a person guilty of the
following acts may be punished for
contempt:
○ Disobedience of or
resistance to a lawful writ,
process, order, judgment, or
7
As amended by Resolution No. 145 adopted on Feb 6, 2013 and published in Feb. 18, 2013
issue of the Manila Bulletin p.8 and of the Daily Tribune p.8
Section 18. CONTEMPT 7
a) the chairman with the concurrence of
at least 1 member of the Committee may
punish or cite in contempt any witness
before the Committee who disobeys any
order of the Committee or refuses to be
sworn or to testify or to answer a
proper question by the Committee or
any of its members, or testifying, testifies
falsely or evasively, or who unduly
refuses to appear or bring before the
Committee certain documents and/or
object evidence required by the
Committee notwithstanding the
issuance of the appropriate subpoena
therefor.
A majority of all the members of the
Committee may, however, reverse or
modify the aforesaid order of contempt
within seven (7) days.
A contempt of the Committee shall be
deemed a contempt of the Senate.
Such witness may be ordered by the
Committee to be detained in such place
as it may designate under the custody of
the Sergeant-at-Arms until he/she agrees
 command of the to produce the required documents, or to
Commission or any of its be sworn or to testify, or otherwise purge
members himself/herself of that contempt.
○ Any abuse of or any
unlawful interference with b) A report of the detention of any person
the process or proceedings for contempt shall be submitted by the
of the Commission or any of Sergeant-at-Arms to the Committee and
its members not the Senate.
constituting direct contempt
under Sec 1 of this Rule;
○ Any improper conduct Sec. 16. Statement of Witness.
tending, directly, or
indirectly, to impede,
(1) Any witness desiring to make a
obstruct, or degrade the
prepared or written statement for the
administration of justice by
record shall file a copy of such statement
the Commission or any of
with the Committee Secretary not less
its members;
than twenty-four (24) hours in advance of
○ Failure to obey a subpoena
the hearing at which the statement is to
duly served
be presented; and

Section 3. Penalty for Indirect (2) All such statements or portions

Contempt thereof so received which are relevant and

If adjudged guilty, the respondent may be germane to the subject of investigation

punished in accordance with the may, at the conclusion of the testimony of

penalties prescribed in the Rules of Court the witness, be inserted in the official
transcript of the proceedings.
Section 4. Petition for Contempt by
the Regional Directors

In cases of contempt committed by any

person/s against any CHR Regional
Director or deputised Hearing Officer/s,
the Regional Director concerned shall
petition before the Commission en banc
to declare such person in indirect
contempt for any of the acts or omissions
set forth in these Rules

Section 5. Arrest and detention for

contumacious acts

The Commission may call on the

appropriate law enforcement agencies to
effect the arrest and detention of a person
adjudged guilty of direct or indirect
contempt, where imprisonment is the
penalty meted out