THE municipal councilor from Leyte who was caught selling fake official receipts and certificates of appearance to delegates of the recently-concluded Philippine Councilors League (PCL) national convention in Davao City was released on Monday afternoon after the Regional Trial Court (RTC) granted his petition for bail.
RTC branch 16 presiding judge Emmanuel Carpio ordered the release of Albuera, Leyte Councilor Sergio Batistis Jr., who was charged with swindling through falsification of public documents, after he paid the bail bond of P24,000.
It can be recalled that Batistis was arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by the Sta. Ana police inside the event's venue at the SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang Premier on Thursday.
Recovered from him were fake official receipts and certificates, a cellular phone, and P103,500 in cash believed to be proceeds from his illegal transaction.
PCL executive director Councilor Wilson Paclibar of Tantangan earlier said the money was paid to Batistis by some councilors who he enticed to pay a registration fee at a discounted rate.
Paclibar said the suspect's irregular activities were already reported in past PCL events.