1 day Ago By Rappler.com
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rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-1" );MANILA, Philippines – Former Bacolod City mayor Luzviminda Valdez and her aide were responsible for the alteration of cash slips to inflate reimbursements, according to a damning 114-page decision by the Sandiganbayan’s 6th Division.The anti-graft court found that Valdez and her staff, Brendo Eligio, were liable for the faking of amounts on at least seven cash slips, bumping up small expenses to hundreds of thousands of pesos.
Prosecutors said Valdez claimed P364,778 for expenses that exceeded only a little over P2,000.Both were convicted on seven counts of falsification, and sentenced to a minimum of two years and up to six years in prison for each count, or a maximum of 42 years. They were also fined P35,000 each.
The charges, filed in 2012, stemmed from a pattern that prosecutors argued showed a clear intent to defraud public funds. Three others who had served under Valdez – Ricardo Dahildahil Jr., then chief of the city’s management and audit service office; former city accountant Eduardo Ravena; and clerk Lalaine Villalva – were acquitted.
The court ruled that prosecutors failed to establish their direct involvement in the scheme.However, the Sandiganbayan cleared all the accused, including Valdez and Eligio, of the heavier charge of malversation of public funds. While the falsification of reimbursement documents was established, the court said there was no proof that the government-funded events in question had not taken place.
“In view thereof, we conclude that the presumption of malversation did not arise in the present cases. Hence, the burden of proof remained with the prosecution. Without proof of misappropriation, the accused cannot be held guilty of malversation,” read part of the decision.
The Sandiganbayan said it was immaterial that the individual who altered the cash slips could not be identified, noting that document falsification can be carried out through “secrecy and other surreptitious means.”The court pointed to a clear paper trail: Valdez, as the official claimant and payee of the inflated reimbursements, was presumed to be the “material author of the falsification.” Eligio, who filed the reimbursement requests using the doctored cash slips, was found equally culpable.
“From the foregoing basic facts, it follows that accused Valdez and Elegio, acting in conspiracy, were the ones who falsified or caused the falsification,” read the ruling. – Rappler.com.
