The Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability of the House of Representatives conducted an inquiry in aid of legislation pertaining to the use by the Provincial Government of Cagayan of its shares from the excise taxes on locally manufactured Virginia-type cigarettes for a purpose other than that provided in Republic Act No. 7171. Due to the evasive answers of the invited provincial government officials (officials) to questions, they were cited in contempt and ordered detained. The officials filed a Petition for Habeas Corpus before the Court of Appeals (CA). After several hearings, the CA issued a writ of habeas corpus and granted the officials’ motion for provisional release. The legislators who were dismayed by the CA’s actions issued a show cause order against the three Justices of the CA Division who issued the writ and ordered the officials’ provisional release. The CA Justices were directed to explain why they should not be cited in contempt by the House of Representatives. May the House of Representatives cite the CA Justices in contempt? Explain.
This is not an official scoring system and carries no weight with the Supreme Court or any bar review provider. It measures how much of the suggested answer's wording your response covers, not whether your reasoning is correct. For practice only.
Answer: No, the House of Representatives cannot cite the CA Justices in contempt. Legal Basis: Under Article VIII, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, judicial power is vested exclusively in the Judiciary. As held in Agcaoili v. Fariñas, courts have constitutional jurisdiction to issue writs of habeas corpus to inquire into the legality of any detention, including legislative detention. Under the separation of powers and judicial independence, Congress cannot
Unlock the full Political Law answers 365 days of full access. GCash, Maya and card accepted.
Quick check
May the House of Representatives cite the Court of Appeals (CA) Justices in contempt for issuing a writ of habeas corpus and granting provisional release to the detained provincial officials?
Under the principle of separation of powers and judicial independence, the House of Representatives cannot cite members of the Judiciary in contempt for acts performed in the exercise of their judicial functions, such as taking cognizance of a petition for habeas corpus and ordering provisional release. Courts are constitutionally authorized to inquire into the legality of detention, and the proper recourse against an adverse judicial ruling is to seek remedies within the judicial hierarchy (such as filing a petition with the Supreme Court), rather than subjecting judges to legislative contempt (Agcaoili v. Fariñas).