MEDIA BRIEFER
August 30, 2023
In the deliberations held yesterday, 29 August 2023, the Supreme Court, acting on G.R. No. 268540 (Manuel N. Mamba v. House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, represented by Hon. Joseph Stephen S. Paduano, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts; House of Representatives Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, represented by Hon. Jonathan Keith T. Flores, Vice-Chairperson and Presiding Officer of the House of Representatives Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms; and PMGEN. Napoleon C. Taas (Ret.), in his capacity as House of Representatives Sergeant-at-Arms), and further considering the following circumstances — namely, that: first, petitioner Manuel N. Mamba and his counsels filed the instant petition with prayer for inter alia the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to restrain the implementation of respondents’ Contempt Order and Detention Order, both dated August 17, 2023; second, the Court issued the TRO prayed for; third, based on various news reports,[1] petitioner voluntarily surrendered to respondents without promptly informing the Court of such supervening development; fourth, petitioner filed a Manifestation and Motion to Withdraw Petition; and fifth, the foregoing effectively rendered nugatory afore-described TRO — the Court, before acting on the Manifestation and Motion to Withdraw Petition, 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.
[1] See <https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/24/23/house-detains-cagayan-governor-over-failure-to-attend-%20probe> and <https://www.rappler.com/nation/luzon/cagayan-governor-manuel-mamba-surrenders-house-detention-order-august-24-2023/> (last accessed on August 29, 2023).