BACOLOD City – Former Bacolod City mayor Luzviminda Valdez, who was convicted on seven counts of falsification and sentenced to a maximum of 42 years, will appeal the anti-graft court’s decision before the Supreme Court (SC).
In a 114-page decision by the Sandiganbayan’s 6th Division, Valdez and her aide, Brendo Eligio, were responsible for the alteration of cash slips to inflate reimbursements.
The anti-graft court found that Valdez and 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.
“We will appeal the anti-graft court’s decision. I know I am innocent of the charges, and I will prove it before the Supreme Court,” Valdez said.
She said the court has provided them with two legal remedies – to serve at least 24-month probationary sentence or to file a motion for reconsideration (MR), and if denied, elevate the case to the SC.
“I firmly reject the first option. Accepting probation would be a tacit admission of guilt for a charge we were already cleared of in substance, with the court itself recognizing that no injury was caused to the government or public interest,” she claimed.
She added: “We view this decision as legally inconsistent and procedurally flawed. We remain confident that justice will ultimately prevail, and we are fully prepared to pursue our appeal before the Supreme Court of the Philippines.”
Valdez also said that this fight is not only for her name and integrity but also for the principles of due process and fair treatment under the law.
She cited that the 6th Division of the Sandiganbayan has acquitted her together with Eligio (secretary-to-the-mayor), Sally Ortega and Lalaine Villalva (City Mayor’s Office personnel), and accounting officers Ricardo Dahildahil and Eduardo Ravina, in connection with criminal cases SB-12-CRM-0274 to 0282.
“These cases originally charged us with malversation of public funds through falsification of public/official documents-a grave offense carrying a penalty of eight to 20 years of imprisonment. This acquittal follows an earlier and similar case against me, which was dismissed by the Fifth Division of the Sandiganbayan in 2022,” Valdez said.
In its recent ruling, the 6th Division explicitly stated that no civil liability is imposed, as there was no evidence showing that the City Government of Bacolod suffered any loss or damage as a result of the alleged acts, the former mayor said.
“This acknowledgment is a critical affirmation that no public funds were lost and no public interest was harmed. However, the court unexpectedly downgraded seven out of the nine charges of similar nature against me and Eligio from conspiracy to malverse public funds through falsification of public/official documents to the lesser offense of falsification of private documents, for which we were convicted,” Valdez emphasized.
The said charges, filed in 2012, stemmed from a post-audit revealing falsified slips from 2004.
Prosecutors asserted Valdez orchestrated the overclaims to misuse public funds./PN
