While the Sandiganbayan affirmed the conviction of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and former Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC) partylist congressman Edgar de Leon Valdez in the misuse of the former legislator's P57.7 million pork barrel funds,  the court modified the fines and civil liability it had earlier imposed on them.

In its Oct. 2, 2023, that anti-graft court found Napoles guilty of nine counts of corruption of public officials while Valdez was found guilty of nine counts of direct bribery. They were both acquitted of their plunder charge.

Napoles and Valdez were slapped with a fine of P26,996,700 million each. They also face imprisonment of two years and four months to six years for each conviction of corruption of public officials for Napoles, and direct bribery for Valdez.

However, the anti-graft court decided to modify their fines and civil liability in a resolution dated July 8, 2024.

"The Motion for Reconsideration filed by accused Edgar de Leon Valdez is partially granted insofar only as to the transaction amounting to P1,000,000 that was deposited to the Metrobank account of Thelma S. Valdez on Feb. 8, 2007, and which is now deducted from the total amount considered in the computation of the fine, without affecting the number of counts of the felonies committed in this case," the court said in its resolution.

"The amount of the fine imposed on accused Valdez and Napoles is modified to P23,996,700," it said. 

As for Napoles, the court said: "By way of civil liability, accused Janet Lim Napoles is ordered to pay the government the total amount of P79,040,000 plus interest of six percent per annum reckoned from the finality of this decision until full payment."

The criminal charges stemmed from the anomalous use of Valdez’s P57.78 million priority development assistance fund (PDAF), which went to the fake non-government organizations (NGOs) of Napoles from 2004 to 2010.

Valdez was accused of receiving kickbacks for his PDAF that went to the NGOs owned by Napoles such as the Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. (MAMFI), Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. (PSDFI), and Social Development Program for Farmer's Foundation Inc. (SDPFFFI).

The court said in its resolution that the prosecution did not object to the lack of imposition of a separate civil liability when it first rendered the guilty verdict against Napoles and Valdez. However, given the re-examination of the legal and factual circumstances of the case, the court decided to impose the P79.04 million civil liability against Napoles.

The said amount was decided upon after the prosecution sufficiently proved that P79.04 million was transferred to MAMFI (P14.55 million), PSDFI (P18.9 million), and SDPFFI (P45.59 million) from 2007 to 2009.

"This total amount of P79,040,000 comprised the public funds that went to the coffers of the three NGOs under the control of accused Napoles, and thus constituted the actual damages suffered by the government resulting from this unlawful scheme," the court said. 

"The disbursements proven in this case to have been given by accused Napoles to accused Valdez cannot be deducted therefrom because such disbursements are unlawful and illegitimate transactions."

Meanwhile, the court likewise reevaluated the commissions and "kickbacks" received by Valdez, which was now computed to P8,989,800 "in contrast to the initial allegation that he received kickbacks or commissions amounting to P57,787,500."

With the deduction of the P1 million to Thelma Valdez's Metrobank account, the kickback received by Valdez has been further reduced to P7,998,800, it said.

Despite these changes, the court said that the evidence on record still established that Valdez received kickbacks from Napoles in at least nine instances.