SC reiterates only offended spouse can file adultery case

The Supreme Court (SC) has reiterated that only the offended spouse may file an adultery case.

In a seven-page decision, the SC Second Division dismissed the adultery case filed by the husband, through his representative, and reversed the ruling of a regional trial court (RTC). 

The RTC ordered the reinstatement of the adultery case between the couple.

“In this case, the complaint for adultery… was not initiated by… the offended spouse. Records revealed that the prosecution for the crime of adultery commenced with a complaint-affidavit filed by… [his] authorized representative,” the SC said.

According to the SC, the metropolitan trial court (MeTC) initially dismissed the adultery charge, saying that only the offended spouse can initiate it.

However, the RTC overturned the MeTC’s ruling.

The SC, for its part, affirmed the decision of the MeTC, citing the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Revised Penal Code.

According to the High Court, adultery and concubinage are private crimes that may be prosecuted only upon the complaint filed by the offended spouse.

“This legal requirement was imposed ‘out of consideration’ for the aggrieved party who might prefer to suffer the outrage in silence rather than go through the scandal of a public trial,” the SC said.

“The law leaves it to the option of the aggrieved spouse to seek judicial redress for the affront committed by the erring spouse,” it added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News