SC dismisses indirect contempt complaint vs Sotto

MANILA (UPDATE) — The Supreme Court has dismissed the indirect contempt filed by a group of lawyers against Senator Vicente Sotto III over critical statements the lawmaker made against the court and its ruling involving the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In the decision promulgated by the en banc on October 7, 2026, the court reaffirmed that freedom of speech and expression enjoys the highest constitutional protection, including speeches on political issues.

The case stemmed from Sotto’s public statements on the decision in Duterte vs. House of Representatives involving the impeachment proceedings.

In the decision penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, Sotto’s statements did not amount to indirect contempt.

“The guarantee of free speech was enacted to protect not only polite speech, but even in its most unsophisticated form,” the SC said in a statement.

The SC further stated that political speech is accorded the highest degree of protection because it is a direct exercise of the people’s sovereignty.

The high court said that by applying the “incitement test”, the key question asked was whether the statements intentionally incited the public to lose trust in the judiciary.

“Even if Senator Sotto’s statements were treated as incitement, the SC found that they did not result in violence, whether stochastic or otherwise,” the SC said.

The court also recognized that disagreements with court rulings are inevitable and the judiciary must be receptive to all forms of criticisms.

“With this decision, we double down not only on freedom of expression but on full respect for the respondent,” the SC said.

In a statement, Sotto thanked the Supreme Court for dismissing the petition for indirect contempt filed against him.

“I disagreed with one of its decisions. That does not mean I have lost respect for the Court. I have always held it in high regard as an institution, and I return the respect it has shown me in its decision,” he said.

“Freedom of speech and expression is one of our strongest safeguards against tyranny. When people are free to question those in power, in any branch of government, power is kept in check. This decision protects the right of every Filipino to speak freely on issues that affect the nation,” the senator added.