THE Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas has suspended for six months and a day a former chief of the Carcar City Police Office and his staffer for allegedly having illicit affairs last year.
Joseph Licudan, graft investigation and prosecution officer, found Supt. Teodulfo Manatad III and Jenica Alixes Albiso, a non-uniformed police personnel, liable for disgraceful and immoral conduct.
The respondents’ acts “come within the purview of disgraceful and immoral conduct as both respondents’ actuations are contrary to prevailing standards of conduct of good and respectable members of the community,” said Licudan in his six-page resolution.
The case stemmed from the complaints filed by Albiso’s husband, Ronald, who accused the respondents of adultery, disgraceful and immoral conduct before the antigraft office.
In his complaint-affidavit, Ronald, through his lawyer, Inocencio dela Cerna, said he confronted his wife when he read text messages on her mobile phone.
Endearment
The respondents called each other “ga” which is short for the local term of endearment “langga.”
Ronald said his wife would come home late and always made up excuses that she had “unfinished work” in the station.
Last April 28, 2015, the husband said he caught his wife kissing Manatad inside the car when the police officer drove the woman to their house.
Ronald then reported the incident to the police station.
Replying to the charges, Manatad denied having an affair with his subordinate.
He said he would usually address someone younger than him as “ga” regardless of gender.
He said he merely “offered” to accompany Jenica to their house since she went home late last April 28, 2015.
In her position paper, Jenica said she worked overtime to finish some paperwork last April 28, 2015.
Since she finished her work at 10 a.m., Jenica said Manatad drove her home since the mobile car was not around.
When they arrived in their subdivision, Jenica said she was giving instructions to Manatad about the PowerPoint presentation that she prepared when her husband knocked hard on the car’s window.
She said her husband then accused her of seeing another man.
In the resolution, graft investigator Licudan found the respondents guilty of disgraceful and immoral conduct.
The ombudsman cited instances such when Manatad kissed and embraced Jenica, who is also a married woman, and the police official’s term of endearment.
“Respondents did not refute the text messages, thus: “Amping ga ha (Take care, ga),” to which the woman replied, “Ikaw pud ga amping pud (You too ga, take care).”
In case the suspension can no longer be enforced due to the respondents’ separation from office, the ombudsman ordered the conversion of their penalty to a fine equivalent to six month’s salaries.