[ manilastandardtoday.com ] July 24-25, 2010
AN official of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was sacked from the service for unexplained wealth.
The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed from the service Amado Navarro, Revenue Officer IV at the BIR Central Office in Quezon City, for dishonesty, grave misconduct and violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The Ombudsman also ordered the filing of charges against Navarro before the lower courts for four counts of perjury, and seven counts of violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
A petition for forfeiture of Navarro’s ill-gotten properties will also be filed before the Regional Trial Court of Baguio City.
Navarro, who started as Revenue Officer I with an annual gross salary of only P11,904 in 1980, was found to have acquired several real properties including various residential lots in Baguio City, agricultural lands, commercial buildings, and a resort in La Union.
The charges stemmed from an investigation conducted by the Department of Finance-Revenue Protection Service (DOF-RIPS), which is tasked to conduct lifestyle checks on officials and employees of the DOF and its attached agencies.
The complaint stated that although the properties were declared in Navarro’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) from 1980 to 2002, he failed to detail the acquisition costs of each property.
He also failed to disclose his business interests or financial connections, despite findings from the investigation that indicated he had several properties for lease, bikes for hire, a grocery store, and a gasoline station.
In addition, he also has several vehicles allegedly registered in the name of his relatives.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, the Ombudsman ordered the filing of charges against Victor Cerniaz Barros, Special Agent II of the Bureau of Customs.
Barros was charged with two counts of Falsification of Public Documents under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code; five counts of violation of Sec. 7 of RA 3019; and one count of violation of Sec. 8 of RA 6713.
Barros reportedly failed to declare a housing loan of P2 million in his 1995 SALN; a property in Laguna in his 1996 SALN; a Cherokee Pioneer V6 in his SALNs from 1989 to 2006; and a Mercedes Benz, a Kawasaki motorcycle, and shares of stock in a general service enterprise in his SALNs for 2003 to 2005.
He was also indicted for failing to file his SALNs for the years 1980, 1982 to 1986, 1990, 1991, and 2006.
In a 53-page joint resolution, the Ombudsman said that “respondent, within a period of 13 years, has amassed wealth which is almost five times greater than the total annual gross compensation he had received from the government.”
The Ombudsman has ordered the forfeiture of unlawfully acquired properties of Barros and his wife.
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