Ex-Cortes mayor Apolinaria Balistoy may end up with a jail term of 48 years for falsifying liquidation documents for her cash advances totalling to P20,799.50 in connection with her unauthorized travels in 2010.
In a 39-page decision released by the Sandiganbayan on Jan. 20, 2023, the anti-graft court found Balistoy guilty of 1 count of graft and 4 counts of falsification of public document.
The former mayor was sentenced to 6 to 8 years in prison for graft, with the accessory of perpetual disqualification from holding public office, based on the decision of the Sandiganbayan’s 5th division.
She was also ordered to pay the town government of Cortes P20,779.50 which is the equivalent amount of money taken by the former mayor in relation to her travels in 2010.
Moreover, Balistoy was sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison for falsification of public document and ordered to pay a fine of P10,000 for each count.
The court said that the former mayor failed to present countervailing evidence to refute the allegations charged before Balistoy.
The case was filed in 2016, the cases stemmed from the former mayor’s trips to Cebu City on Jan. 5, 20 and 21 and Feb. 4, 5, 26 and 27, all in 2010, in the guise of official travel.
The trips were unauthorized according to the Sandiganbayan as there was no authorization coming from the provincial governor, who at the time was the late Erico Boyles Aumentado, the father of the current governor of Bohol.
The court said the former
mayor falsified certificates of appearance from the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
Furthermore, she forged the signature of the certifying officer from CSC-Central Visayas public assistance and liaison division in 4 instances where she liquidated her cash advances.
The court gave weight to the testimony of the supervising administrative officer from the office of the provincial governor saying there were no records of travel authority issued for Balistoy from Jan. 2009 to June 2011.
The court cited the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) that the cash advances used in the former mayor’s trips to Cebu City were tagged as LGU operating expenses.
As such, the COA issued a notice of disalllowance due to irregularities related to Balistoy’s travels to Cebu City.