MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a petition seeking to penalize a police officer cleared in an administrative case arising from a physical altercation with relatives.

In a resolution uploaded online on March 11, the high court’s First Division affirmed the 2019 decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) in favor of Senior Police Officer 1 (SPO1) Julienne Delco.

The CA, in turn, affirmed the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB)’s June 29, 2017 decision dismissing the grave misconduct complaint filed against the law enforcer by Erlinda Omal.

In denying the petition, the high court said Omal, the private complainant, has no legal personality to appeal or elevate the dismissal of charges against the policewoman.

“It is a settled doctrine that the private complainant does not have legal personality to appeal in administrative cases. The private complainant is not a party adversely affected by the decision; he or she is a mere witness for the government as no private interest is involved as the offended party is the government,” the SC said.

The case arose from a scuffle in 2015 involving the police officer and her sister who confronted her husband, who is the complainant’s son.
The complainant claimed the two sisters went to her son’s house unannounced and beat him up. She claimed that she tried to pacify them but was pushed by the sisters, causing her to fall, lose consciousness and suffer bruises. But no injuries or contusions were proven in the medico-legal report, according to the PLEB and the CA.

The court also held that Erlinda failed to present evidence that the policewoman deliberately violated the law or was responsible for the complained acts.

The SC upheld the CA’s finding that the complainant Erlinda failed to show that the PLEB “gravely abused its decision” in issuing the impugned issuances” and said the PLEB’s factual findings and conclusions of law “were all supported by the pieces of evidence”. (PNA)