Former Bohol mayor gets 22 years for unauthorized travels

MANILA, Philippines – The anti-graft court has sentenced the former mayor of Cortes, Bohol, to 22 years in prison for  traveling without authority and for falsifying documents to liquidate the public funds she had used. 

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division found Apolinaria Balistoy guilty of graft and four counts of falsification of public documents.

Between January and February 2010, Balistoy traveled to Cebu City seven times without authority from the provincial governor, a requirement under the Local Government Code and civil service rules.

The law and civil service rules also required her to submit certificates of appearance when she liquidated the P20,779.50 she had spent on the trips. 

Balistoy tried to liquidate her cash advances, but did so by submitting falsified certificates of appearance. They were signed by a Civil Service Commission officer who had retired before the year of her travel. 

Where is she now? 

She had gone in hiding since the cases were filed in 2016 and when the court issued a warrant of arrest and a hold departure order against her. 

In February 2017, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents caught her at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, but she was released a day after upon posting bail.

On January 20, 2023, disappeared again, but the Sandiganbayan went ahead and sentenced her to: 

• 6 to 8 years for graft
• 4 to 10 years for each count of  falsification of public documents

The court also ordered Balistoy to repay the cash advance in full.

The Bureau of Immigration told the prosecutors that Balistoy had fled the country abroad, this time as an airline crew member on a special flight. Her destination was not known. – Rappler.com