Short answer. Up to thirty thousand pesos in fine, up to six months in prison, or both, for contempt against a Regional Trial Court or higher. Contempt against a lower court caps at five thousand pesos or one month, or both. Violating an injunction, TRO, or status quo order can also mean restitution to the injured party.
What the law says
If the respondent is adjudged guilty of indirect contempt committed against a Regional Trial Court or a court of equivalent or higher rank, he may be punished by a fine not exceeding thirty thousand pesos or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both.
Rule 71, Section 7 — Punishment for indirect contempt. Read the full provision →
What the law says
If he is adjudged guilty of contempt committed against a lower court, he may be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos or imprisonment not exceeding one month, or both.
Rule 71, Section 7 — Punishment for indirect contempt. Read the full provision →
Two penalty ceilings, by court rank
Section 7 does not set one penalty for all indirect contempt — it scales the ceiling to the rank of the court disobeyed. Contempt against a Regional Trial Court, or a court of equal or higher rank, tops out at a thirty-thousand-peso fine, six months' imprisonment, or both. Contempt against a lower court tops out at five thousand pesos, one month, or both. This tiered structure reflects the idea that defiance of a higher court, with broader jurisdiction and authority, warrants a correspondingly higher potential penalty than defiance of a court lower in the judicial hierarchy.
The restitution add-on
Where the contempt consisted of violating a writ of injunction, a temporary restraining order, or a status quo order, the court may go further and order the contemnor to make complete restitution — restoring the property involved, or paying such amount as is alleged and proved — to the party the violation injured. This restitution remedy is separate from the fine or imprisonment and can be imposed in addition to either, or both, where the violation caused actual loss. The court is not required to award restitution in every case of this kind; the amount must actually be alleged and proved, so a bare accusation of loss without supporting evidence would not support a restitution order on top of the fine or imprisonment.
How the fine gets collected
A judgment imposing a fine is not self-executing. Section 7 directs that a writ of execution issue for it, exactly as in ordinary civil actions, unless the court itself provides otherwise. In other words, an unpaid contempt fine can be enforced through the same execution machinery used to collect any other money judgment. That means an unpaid fine does not simply lapse; it can be pursued through garnishment or levy on the contemnor's property like any other unsatisfied civil judgment. This matters in practice because it means a contemnor cannot avoid consequences simply by declining to pay the fine voluntarily — the same collection tools available to any ordinary judgment creditor remain available here.