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OMBUDSMAN Merceditas Gutierrez has sanctioned 11
officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue for various
offenses.
The
officials were identified as Beltran Dy, Revenue
District Officer, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
Balanga City; Andres Gabagat Jr., Revenue Examiner I,
BIR-Quezon City; Ma. Antonietta Tabobo and Heddan
Baltazar, both Revenue Collection Officers, BIR-Iloilo
City; Rosalinda Francia, former Revenue Collection
Agent, BIR-Aurora; Sari Umadhay, Revenue Officer, BIR-Iloilo
City; and Leonila Janiola, employee, BIR-Cebu City.
At the
same time, Gutierrez ordered the filing of charges
against Tamanatao Amerol, Regional Director, BIR-Butuan
City; Cosme Montesclaros, Jr. Revenue Officer I, BIR-Cebu
City; Nieto Racho, Revenue District Officer, BIR-Cebu
City; and Kamil Bajunaid, Asst. Revenue District
Officer, BIR-Kidapawan City.
Gabagat
started his career in the BIR in 1990 as Revenue
Examiner I with an annual salary of only P39,708, a
position he held until the filing of the complaint
against him.
Records
showed Gabagat’s P125,000 net worth in 1998 increased to
P1.12 million in 2000; in 2001, he acquired a house and
lot in La Loma, Quezon City worth P1 million despite an
annual salary of only P136,128 for that year.
Dy, on
the other hand, entered the government service on May 5,
1968 as a Revenue Inspector until he was appointed to
his present position as Chief Revenue Officer IV (
BIR-Balanga City, Bataan ).
From
1971 to 2004, he earned about P2.985 million from his
salary, his only source of livelihood. Based on his
Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN)
from 1993 to 2003, Dy did not declare any liability. His
networth as of 2003 was P2.9 million.
Documents also revealed that respondent went abroad at
least 18 times since July 1995.
He
undeclared properties in the total amount of more than
P36 million including real properties, vehicles, capital
in Asiavest Credit Corp. (ACC) and active investments in
Petron Corp. When subtracted from his total legitimate
income from his government salary, he has a total
unexplained wealth of more than P33 million.
The
amount does not include his bank accounts and the
properties under the names of his children who had no
capacity to acquire the same.
During
an internal audit on the accounts of Tabobo, it was
found that she failed to remit the amount of
P564,832.091 and, despite a letter of demand, the same
remains unaccounted for.
Baltazar
was dismissed from the service for Malversation of
Public Funds. Investigation showed that Baltazar
incurred cash accountabilities and unremitted collection
of P155,423 and documentary stamp accountabilities in
the equivalent amount of P5,400. The decision stated
that Baltazar also had “98 sets of accountable unused
Revenue Official receipts with serial numbers 02538603
to 02538700 which he failed to remit.”
Baltazar
was required to explain his side and/or settle his
accounts but he failed to do so.
Francia
was similarly ordered dismissed from the service for
failure to account for a total of P863,819.45 in
government funds.
Umadhay
was ordered dismissed from the service for receiving a
total of P258,000 for the payment of Estate and Capital
Gains Taxes of a certain Mary Lynn Franco and for her
services in the processing of said documents, in
violation of Revenue Memorandum Order 15-03 which
authorizes only the Revenue Collection Officer or
Deputized Municipal Treasurer to receive payment of
taxes in the absence of an Authorized Agent Bank; and RA
6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public
Officials and Employees ) which prohibits public
officials and employees from soliciting and accepting
any gift or anything of monetary value from any person
in the course of his official duties.
A
complaint was filed before the Office of the Ombudsman
against Janiola after he failed to process the title of
a parcel of land despite having received a total of
P52,000 as payment for capital gains tax and processing
of the same.
Meantime, the OMB ordered the filing of charges against
Amerol and his wife Nora for allegedly acquiring a total
of P9,276,148 in ill-gotten wealth from 1993 to 2003.
The
Ombudsman also ordered the filing of perjury charges
against Amerol for his failure to disclose certain
properties and businesses in his SALN from 1993 to 2003,
including four lots, six commercial buildings, a
bachelor’s pad, two dormitories, and a 2-storey
residential building.
It also
ordered the filing of charges for two counts of
malversation of public funds against Montesclaros, who
was found to have incurred a total shortage of P19,500
in his accounts as revenue collection officer of Tuburan
Cebu, for the period April to November 2003, and of
Tabuclan, Cebu , for July 1996 to November 2003.
It also
ordered the filing of charges for falsification of a
public document and use of falsified document against
Racho after he presented a falsified Special Power of
Attorney (SPA) as part of his defense in a separate case
filed against him.
In
another case, the OMB ordered the filing of perjury
charges against Bajunaid after he filed a petition
before the Regional Trial Court of Cotabato City seeking
to have his date of birth corrected from February 15,
1939 to February 15, 1942, saying “all the school
records and employment of Petitioner carry February 15,
1942 as the dated (sic) birth of the petitioner.”
Upon
verification, however, it was found that Bajunaid’s
Personnel Data Sheet (PDS) with the BIR, accomplished in
his own handwriting, as well as his official transcript
of records at the University of the East, and records of
preliminary graduation at the Notre Dame Colleges
clearly show his date of birth to be February 15, 1939.
Gutierrez directed Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni to
ensure that the orders are immediately implemented to
serve as a warning to all BIR officials not to commit
the same offenses. (Z. Solmerin) |
