Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz and Executive Assistant II Chery Sheil Valenzuela were back at the Capitol on Thursday, October 19.
They are expected to be paid more than two months of back pay.
They were initially suspended for six months, which was later reduced to one month by the Ombudsman.
Diaz and Valenzuela started serving their suspensions on June 8, so their one month suspension should have ended in July.
The penalty meted on the two was for the private practice of law in “conflict” with their jobs at the provincial government.
Diaz maintained that they did not act in conflict of interest and will file an appeal before the Court of Appeals to be fully exonerated.*