The Department of Finance (DOF) has launched its anti-corruption web site where the public can report officers and personnel of the department and its attached agencies like the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) whose lifestyles may be “grossly disproportionate” to their incomes.
In a news statement issued on Tuesday, the DOF said the “Information against Corruption Page” can be accessed under the Advocacies/Anti-Corruption menu of the DOF web site.
It said this is in support of the latest directive of President Duterte against graft and corruption.
Under Executive Order 259, Series of 2003, the secretary of finance has the power to investigate information against errant officials and personnel, submit the findings to the Office of the Ombudsman, and push for their criminal prosecution and dismissal from the service. According to the same EO, the power of the finance secretary to investigate corruption is exercised through a trusted undersecretary who supervises the RIPS, or Revenue Integrity Protection Service.
Prior to the launch of the anti-corruption web site, any information on suspected corruption is reported to DOF on a face-to-face basis.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the online tool allows the public to safely submit information directly to the DOF through their mobile devices.
While DOF is not officially a part of the newly created Department of Justice Mega Task Force tasked to investigate graft, the DOF said it has always heeded the call of the President to curb corruption through its RIPS team.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has informed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra about the RIPS anti-corruption team, which is mandated to detect, investigate and prevent corruption under the DOF, BIR, BOC, and all other DOF-attached agencies.
“In light of the memorandum of President Duterte directing the Department of Justice [DOJ] to investigate allegations of corruption in the entire bureaucracy, this department shall be pleased to extend its assistance which your department may need,” Dominguez said in his letter to Guevarra.
“[The RIPS team] has the authority to gather evidence and file the appropriate criminal, civil or administrative complaints against government officials and employees in the said offices before the appropriate court, or administrative body and actively assist in the prosecution of the cases,” Dominguez added.
Dominguez also said the DOJ may coordinate with RIPS Executive Director Ray Gilberto Espinosa “to discuss how our respective departments can work together towards this effort.”
Since assuming office, Undersecretary Bayani Agabin has been at the helm of the team assisted by Espinosa who was previously a prosecutor with the DOJ-National Prosecution Service (DOJ-NPS).
Since July 2016, the RIPS has initiated investigations against 384 officials and employees of the DOF and its attached agencies.
The RIPS was able to secure successful resolutions against 57 individuals charged before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Office of the Ombudsman, 14 of whom were ordered dismissed from the service.
The information against corruption page can be accessed using the URL https://www.dof.gov.ph/report-corruption/.
