THE Department of Finance announced 468 of its 3,000 employees were investigated in the past five years by the DOF’s anti-corruption unit based on various complaints and for lifestyle-check.
Over half or 55 percent of the employees investigated were from the Bureau of Customs while over a third or 38 percent were from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, a report by the head of the DOF-Revenue Integrity Protection Service (Rips) revealed.
The other employees investigated came from the DOF, Bureau of Local Government Finance, Bureau of the Treasury and the Insurance Commission.
As a result of the investigations, 58 cases were filed by the Rips from July 2016 up to December 2021 before the Office of the Ombudsman, Civil Service Commission or other quasi-judicial bodies.
DOF-Rips Executive Director Ray Gilberto J. Espinosa said that 16 employees were dismissed from service while ten were found guilty in criminal cases from July 2016 up to February this year.
Another 35 employees were suspended, nine were reprimanded and seven were ordered to pay fines as penalties for the charges for which they were held liable, Espinosa’s report revealed.
Meanwhile, the Central Board of Assessment Appeals (CBAA) received appeals involving some P1.92-billion worth of real property taxes last year.
As a quasi-judicial body, the CBAA decides on real property tax assessment cases brought on appeal from the decisions of the Local Board of Assessment Appeals (LBAA) of cities and provinces nationwide.
A report by CBAA Hearing Officer Gualberto J. Oyzon Jr. said that 20 cases were elevated to the Supreme Court, with six decided in favor of CBAA’s decision.
Another five cases decided by the CBAA remain pending with the Court of Tax Appeals last year, with four others decided in its favor.
Oyzon said all of the cases received by the Board from the LBAA were acted upon within 30 days after receipt of the complete documents needed to resolve them while nine out of 10 cases submitted for decision to the CBAA were resolved within 90 days.