Badoy guilty of indirect contempt for threats vs judge

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has slapped a P30,000 fine against Lorraine Badoy, former spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for indirect contempt over her “vitriolic statements and outright threats” against a judge.

In a 51-page ruling penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the SC found Badoy guilty of indirect contempt of court for statements she made online against Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar in September 2022.

On Sept. 21, 2022, Magdoza-Malagar dismissed the government’s petition to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), as terrorist organizations.

Two days later, Badoy, in a Facebook post, called Magdoza-Malagar an “idiot judge” who is a friend of the communist groups, accusing her of lawyering for the CPP-NPA.

She also asked for leniency in a now-deleted post saying that should she “kill” the judge out of her political belief “that all allies of the CPP-NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front) must be killed.”

In another post, Badoy threatened to bomb the offices of judges whom she deemed as “friends of terrorists.”

The next day, Badoy uploaded another post where she described Magdoza-Malagar as “unprincipled and rotten,” claiming that the judge’s husband was a member of the CPP.

“For her vitriolic statements and outright threats against Judge Magdoza-Malagar and the Judiciary, respondent is found guilty of indirect contempt and is fined P30,000 with a warning that repeating the same or similar acts will lead to a more severe penalty,” the SC decision read.

The SC decision granted the petition of a group of lawyers that asked the high tribunal to cite Badoy for indirect contempt.

In resolving the case, the SC said it found that Badoy’s posts constitute improper conduct tending – directly or indirectly – to impede, obstruct or degrade the administration of justice, which equates to indirect contempt.

Badoy’s claim that the judge dismissed the government’s petition because of Magdoza-Malagar’s supposed friendly ties with the CPP-NPA-NDF “threatens the impartial image of the judiciary,”