Ruffy Biazon to appeal Sandiganbayan ruling on graft case
Muntinlupa Mayor Rozzano Rufino 'Ruffy' Biazon over the weekend said he will appeal Sandiganbayan's ruling that found him, along with five other respondents including businesswoman Janet Napoles, guilty of graft in connection to the alleged misuse of the priority development assistance fund (PDAF) in 2007.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson Atty. Mitchell-David Espiritu, the reelected mayor's team said they will be filing a motion for reconsideration, seeking the anti-graft court to re-examine the ruling and citing his right to due process.
'We respect the Sandiganbayan's decision as part of our justice system. However, we are surprised by the outcome, especially since Mayor Ruffy was previously acquitted of similar charges involving public funds,' Espiritu said in Filipino in a post on Biazon's official Facebook page.
'We remain hopeful that, like the earlier cases, Mayor Ruffy will ultimately be acquitted once due process has been completed. We intend to explore all legal remedies, beginning with a motion for reconsideration,' he added.
Biazon, along with businesswoman Janet Napoles and former government agency Technology Resource Center (TRC) officials Dennis Cunanan, Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, and Evelyn De Leon were sentenced to six to eight years in jail and perpetual disqualification from public office after being found guilty of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Court records showed that whistleblower Benhur Luy said Biazon received some P1.950 million through an authorized representative, and the public funds from Biazon's PDAF went to Napoles-run Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. (PSDFI), a corporate entity that could not have been physically located at its declared address.
Biazon, for his part, argued that he merely endorsed the non-government organization (MGO) to the TRC, and that his signature was forged by the whistleblower.
The court meanwhile found that Biazon's endorsement functioned more as an instruction than a recommendation, and that there was no substantial evidence that he took steps to dispute or report the alleged forgery.
'Mayor Ruffy will continue to uphold the law — the same law that grants him the right to defend himself and to clear his name of these accusations,' Espiritu said.
'According to the law, Mayor Ruffy will stay in his post and fulfill the mandate entrusted to him by the people of Muntinlupa,' he added. —RF, GMA Integrated News
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