CASE DIGEST : PSI DARWIN D. VALDERAS, VS. VILMA O. SULSE G.R. No. 205659 GAERLAN

 FACTS : This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 assailing the CA Decision dated September 17, 2012 and Resolution dated January 23, 2013, which affirmed the Ombudsman’s ruling finding Police Senior Inspector Darwin D. Valderas guilty of Simple Neglect of Duty and meting a penalty of one-month suspension without pay. The case arose from the alleged mauling of Vilma O. Sulse, former Sangguniang Bayan Secretary of Taft, Eastern Samar, by Mayor Francisco Adalim inside the Taft Police Station on May 9, 2006. Respondent claimed she was assaulted, while petitioner contended he arrived after the incident and that the police blotter did not reflect any request to record it. The Ombudsman initially suspended petitioner for two months, later reduced to one month, holding him liable for failing to record the incident in the police blotter, while exonerating other officers. The CA upheld the Ombudsman’s decision, reasoning that even if the alleged mauling did not occur, petitioner should have ensured that the reprimand or rebuke by Mayor Adalim and Vice Mayor Adel was documented. Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration before the CA was denied.

ISSUE : WON the CA erred in affirming the Ombudsman's finding of Simple Neglect of Duty on the part of petitioner.

HELD : The Court found the petition meritorious. While Rule 45 generally limits review to questions of law, exceptions exist when factual conclusions are based on speculation, misapprehension, or manifestly absurd inferences, as in this case. The Court explained that simple neglect of duty requires substantial evidence showing a public officer failed to perform a task expected of them through carelessness or indifference. The Ombudsman and CA erred in holding petitioner liable for not recording in the police blotter an alleged mauling that was never proven to have occurred, and in setting standards for what should be in a blotter, which only records criminal incidents and other significant events. Petitioner was singled out despite no evidence he alone refused respondent’s request. The Court emphasized that a police blotter is not a journal of every event and that rebukes by the Mayor and Vice Mayor did not automatically require recording. Consequently, the Court found PSI Darwin D. Valderas not guilty of simple neglect of duty and granted the petition, reversing and setting aside the CA’s decisions, and dismissing the complaint before the Ombudsman.