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QUIMBO
G.R. No. 173277, 25 February 2015, SECOND DIVISION, (Mendoza, J.)
Even if the Ombudsman is not impleaded as a party in the proceedings, part of its broad
powers include defending its decisions before the Court of Appeals.
Daradal filed a motion for withdrawal of the complaint but was denied by
the Ombudsman-Visayas. The Ombudsman-Visayas dismissed the case of sexual
harassment against Quimbo but finding him guilty of oppression. When the case
reached the Court of Appeals, it reversed the ruling of the Ombudsman-Visayas and
denied the motion for intervention of the latter.
ISSUE:
Does the Ombudsman possess the requisite legal interest to intervene in the
proceedings where its decision is in question?
RULING:
As can be gleaned from the foregoing disquisition, the CA, in the present
case, gravely erred in disallowing the Ombudsman’s motion to intervene. It failed to
consider the essence of the Ombudsman’s constitutionally and statutorily conferred
powers establishing its clear legal interest in ensuring that its directive be
implemented.