Contempt (Rule

71)
Contempt - a disregard,
disobedience to the
rules or orders of a judicial body, or an
interruption of its proceedings by disorderly
behavior or insolent language, in its presence
or so near thereto as to disturb the
proceedings or to impair the respect due to
such body.
Contempt of court- is disobedience to the
court by acting in opposition to its authority,
justice and dignity. A willful disregard of the
courts orders in some manner to impede the
due administration of justice .

Reason for the power to

punish for contempt

Respect of the courts

guarantees the stability of
their institution.
--------------------------------------Without such guarantee, said
institution would be resting on
shaky foundation

CONTEMPT PROCEEDINGS
1. Vindication of public interest by
punishment of contemptuous
conduct.
2. Coercion to compel the contemnor to
do what the law requires him to
uphold the power of the Court, and
also to secure the rights of the parties
to a suit awarded by the Court

KINDS OF CONTEMPTS; PURPOSE;

AND NATURE OF EACH
CIVIL CONTEMPT

CRIMINAL CONTEMPT

Failure to do something
ordered to be done by a court
or a judge for the benefit of the
opposing party therein and is
therefore and offense against
the party in whose behalf the
violated order was made;

Conduct directed against the

authority and dignity of the
court or a judge acting
judicially; it is an obstructing
the administration of justice
which tends to bring the court
into disrepute or disrespect;

The purpose is to compensate

for the benefit of a party;

The purpose is to punish, to

vindicate the authority of the
court and protect its outraged
dignity;

 The rules of procedure

governing contempt
proceedings or criminal
prosecutions ordinarily are
inapplicable to civil
contempt proceedings.

Should be conducted in
accordance with the
principles and rules
applicable to criminal
cases, insofar as such
procedure is consistent
with the summary nature
of contempt proceedings.

Direct Contempt
In general is committed in the
presence of or so near the court
or judge as to obstruct or
interrupt the proceedings before
it;
a. Misbehavior in the presence of or
so near the court as to obstruct or
interrupt the proceedings before
it;
b. Disrespect toward the court;

Indirect Contempt
It is not committed in the presence of
the court, but done at a distance which
tends to belittle, degrade, obstruct or
embarrass the court and justice;
a. Misbehavior an officer of a court in the
performance of his official duties or in
his official transactions;
b. Disobedience of or resistance to a
lawful writ, process, order, or judgment
of a court, including the act of a person
who, after being dispossessed or
ejected from any real property by the
judgment or process of any court of
competent jurisdiction, enters or
attempts or induces another to enter
into or upon such real property, for the
purpose of executing acts of ownership
or possession, or in any manner
disturbs the possession given to the
person adjudged to be entitled thereto;

c.

Offensive
personalities
towards others;

d. Acts of a party or a counsel

which constitute willful and
deliberate forum
shopping (Sec. 1, Rule 7);
e. Refusal to subscribe an
affidavit or deposition when

c. Any abuse of or any

unlawful interference with
the processes or
proceedings of a court not
constituting direct contempt
under section 1 of this
Rule;
d. Any improper conduct
tending, directly or
indirectly, to impede,
obstruct, or degrade the
administration of justice;
e. Assuming to be an attorney
or an officer of a court, and
acting as such without
authority;

f. Acts of a party or a
counsel which
constitute willful and
deliberate forum
shopping
g. Unfounded
accusations or
allegations or words in
a pleading tending to
embarrass the court or
to bring it into
disrepute

f. Failure to obey a

subpoena duly served;

g. The rescue, or
attempted rescue, of a
person or property in
the custody of an
officer by virtue of an
order or process of a
court held by him

Remedy; penalty
Direct Contempt
The penalty for direct
contempt depends upon the
court which the act was
committed;
(a) If the act constituting
direct contempt was
committed against an RTC
or a court of equivalent or
higher rank, the penalty is a
fine not exceeding 2,000
pesos or imprisonment not
exceeding 10 days, or both;

Indirect Contempt
The punishment for indirect
contempt depends upon the
level of the court against which
the act was committed;
(a) Where the act was
committed against an RTC
or a court of equivalent or
higher rank, he may be
punished by a fine not
exceeding 30,000 pesos or
imprisonment not exceeding
6 months, or both;

(b) If the act constituting

direct contempt was
committed against a lower
court, the penalty is a fine not
exceeding 200 pesos or
imprisonment not exceeding
one (1) day, or both

(b) Where the act was

committed against a lower
court, he may be punished
by a fine not exceeding
5,000 pesos or imprisonment
not exceeding one month, or
both. Aside from the
applicable
penalties, if the contempt
consists in the violation of a
writ of injunction, TRO or status
quo order, he may also be
ordered to make complete
restitution to the party injured
by such violation of the
property
involved or such amount as
may be alleged and proved

(c) If the contempt consists

in the refusal or omission to do
an act which is yet within the
power of the respondent to
perform, he may be
imprisoned by order of the
court concerned until he
performs it

(c) Where the act was

committed against a person or
entity exercising quasi-judicial
functions, the penalty imposed
shall depend upon the
provisions of the law which
authorizes a penalty for
contempt against such
persons or entities.

A person adjudged in direct

contempt may not appeal there
from. His remedy is a petition
for certiorari or prohibition
directed against the court which
adjudged him in direct contempt.
Pending the resolution of the petition
for certiorari or prohibition, the
execution of the judgment for
direct contempt shall be
suspended. The suspension
however shall take place only if the
person adjudged in contempt files
a bond fixed by the court which
rendered the judgment. This bond
is conditioned upon his
performance of the judgment
should the petition be decided
against him.

The person adjudged in

indirect contempt may appeal
from the judgment or final
order of the court in the same
manner as in criminal cases.
The appeal will not however
have the effect of suspending
the judgment if the person
adjudged in contempt does
not file a bond in an amount
fixed by the court from which
the appeal is taken. This bond
is conditioned upon his
performance of the judgment
or final order if the appeal is
decided against (Sec. 11).

Acts deemed
punishable as
indirect contempt

After a charge in
writing has been filed,
and an opportunity
given to the
respondent to
comment thereon
within such period as
may be fixed by the
court and to be heard
by himself or counsel,
a person guilty of any
of the following acts
may be punished for
indirect contempt:

(a) Misbehavior an officer of a court in

the performance of his official duties
or in his official transactions;
(b) Disobedience of or resistance to a
lawful writ, process, order, or
judgment of a court, including the act
of a person who, after being
dispossessed or ejected from any real
property by the judgment or process
of any court of competent
jurisdiction, enters or attempts or
induces another to enter into or upon
such real property, for the purpose of
executing acts of ownership or
possession, or in any manner
disturbs the possession given to the
person adjudged to be entitled
thereto;

(c) Any abuse of or any unlawful interference

with the processes or proceedings of a court
not constituting direct contempt under section
1 of this Rule;
(d) Any improper conduct tending, directly or
indirectly, to impede, obstruct, or degrade the
administration of justice;
(e) Assuming to be an attorney or an officer
of a court, and acting as such without
authority;

(g) The rescue, or attempted

rescue, of a person or property in
the custody of an officer by virtue
of an order or process of a court
held by him
Failure by counsel to inform the court of
the death of his client constitutes
indirect contempt within the purview of
Sec. 3, Rule 71, since it constitutes an
improper conduct tending to impede the
administration of justice.