INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines鈥擳he Supreme Court has fined former Davao del Sur Rep. Marc Douglas Cagas IV P20,000 for disrespecting it when he questioned its decision that paved the way for the holding of a plebiscite to create a new province, Davao Occidental, last year.
In a seven-page decision released Friday, the entire court found Cagas guilty of two counts of indirect contempt for questioning the credibility of Justice Antonio Carpio, who wrote the ruling on the plebiscite case, and using his 鈥渟eeming friendly ties鈥� with Court Administrator Midas Marquez to influence the justices.
On Oct. 25, 2013, the high court dismissed for lack of merit Cagas鈥� petition to stop the Commission on Elections from holding the plebiscite simultaneously with the Oct. 28 barangay (village) elections.
Cagas claimed the plebiscite was illegal because it would be held beyond the 60-day period for the holding of the exercise as provided for in the law that created the new province.
Cagas then wrote a letter to Marquez鈥攚hom he addressed as 鈥減ards,鈥� short for 鈥渃ompadre鈥濃�攓uestioning the ruling, saying: 鈥淸T]he decision did not surprise me. What struck me was the level of deceitfulness of whoever wrote the decision. It can poison the minds of law students.鈥�
Cagas also enclosed DVDs which he asked Marquez to forward to the justices 鈥渟o they may know the truth.鈥�
Ordered by the court to explain, Cagas said he was 鈥渢ruly sorry and take full responsibility鈥� for his remarks, adding that he got carried away by his 鈥減assion and desire鈥� to improve the lot of his province mates. He said his letter to Marquez was personal communication.
The justices, however, voting 14-0, found Cagas鈥� explanation 鈥渦nsatisfactory鈥� and 鈥渓ess than candid.鈥� They said Cagas 鈥渃learly wanted to exploit his seeming friendly ties with Marquez and have 鈥榩ards鈥� utilize his official connections.鈥濃��Jerome Aning
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