By Perfecto T. Raymundo
MANILA, July 14 (PNA) — Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has ordered the filing of multiple graft charges against officials of the One-Stop Shop Inter-Agency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center (OSS-Center) of the Department of Finance (DOF).
Ordered charged before the Sandiganbayan were former Undersecretary Antonio Belicena, former Deputy Executive Director Uldarico Andutan, Jr., and Officer-in-charge of the Textile Division Asuncion Magdaet as well as the owners and officers of Mannequin International Corp. (MIC).
They were charged for violations of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act”, in connection with the irregular issuance of tax credit certificates (TCCs).
The tax credit scheme involved the release of 45 TCCs to MIC amounting to Php 112,606,076 from 1995 to 1998.
Upon post-audit by the DOF Chief Tax Specialist, it was established that MIC fraudulently obtained the TCCs by means of misrepresentation and deceit by submitting fake commercial documents such as export declarations, export sales invoice, bills of lading/airway bills, and bank credit memorandum to validate non-existing export transactions.
The company was, for all intents and purposes, a paper corporation, created solely for the purpose of filing spurious tax credit claims with the government.
The Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) found probable cause to indict them on the ground that the OSS officials failed to discharge their responsibilities to thoroughly evaluate and review the application and verify the authenticity of the documents.
Belicena and Andutan each face 45 counts while Magdaet faces 43 counts of violation of Section 3(e) of RA No. 3019.
The Ombudsman resolution said that public respondents acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence when they allowed the release of the TCCs to MIC and the transfer to entities which allegedly supplied raw materials to MIC’s production of export goods despite the lack of qualification to avail of the tax credit benefit.
It added that the existence of injury to the government was indisputable as it was quantified in the aggregate amount of the TCCs which the respondents processed, evaluated, approved and issued to an ineligible firm.
Aside from Belicena, Andutan and Magdaet, the Ombudsman ordered the filing of graft charges against DOF employees which include Rowena Maño (1 count); Gemma Abara (3 counts);Annabelle Dino (6 counts); Emelita Tizon (6 counts); Purita Napeñas (2 counts); Charmelle Recoter (4 counts); Merose Tordesilla (5 counts); Gregoria Evangelio (2 counts); Mark Binsol (2 counts); Cherry Gomez (4 counts); Sylvialina Daguimol (3 counts); Manuel Rigor III (1 count); Maria Christina Moncada (3 counts); Paul Senador (1 count); andMarife Cabadin (1 count).
In July 2012, the Ombudsman filed criminal charges before the Sandiganbayan against 17 officials of the DOF and several private individuals for their involvement in the fraudulent issuance of 83 TCCs amounting to Php 202 million.
Earlier in 2011, the Ombudsman also ordered the filing of criminal charges before the Sandiganbayan against BIR Assistant Commissioner Lirio Cabsaba and eight other BIR and DOF officials for fraudulent issuance and sale of TCCs.
In March 2012, the first set of “tax credit scam” cases were resolved resulting in the dismissal from the service of 13 DOF officials, including Belicena and Andutan, for defrauding the government of Php 82 million and Php 74.84 million stemming from the “tax credit scam” from 1994 to 1998.
The Ombudsman also ordered the filing of 20 counts of violation of Sec. 3 (e) of RA No. 3019 and 20 counts of estafa thru falsification of public documents.
A TCC refers to a tax credit representing the tariff duties and internal revenue taxes (VAT) paid by an enterprise on the raw materials, supplies and semi-manufactured supplies used in the manufacture of export products, entitling it to a tax refund as a package incentive.
In order to facilitate the TCC issuance under the illicit scheme, false and/spurious commercial documents were submitted to the OSS-Center which failed to verify their authenticity.
The TCCs were then sold or illegally transferred to other business entities by making it appear that the transferees were suppliers of raw materials. (PNA)