DOF probes 468 employees

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The anti-corruption arm of the Department of Finance (DOF) has so far investigated 468 employees based on various complaints and lifestyle checks under the Duterte administration’s term, the agency said yesterday.

In a statement, the DOF said these investigations were done by the DOF’s Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) from July 2016 up to December 2021 and resulted in 58 cases filed before either the Office of the Ombudsman, Civil Service Commission or other quasi-judicial bodies.

The investigations were done on employees from the DOF; Bureaus of Customs (BOC), of Internal Revenue (BIR), of Local Government Finance and of the Treasury; and the Insurance Commission.

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Over half or 55 percent of the 466 employees investigated were from the BOC, while over a third or 38 percent were from the BIR, according to Ray Gilberto Espinosa, RIPS executive director.

Espinosa said from July 2016 up to February 2022, 16 were dismissed from the service, while 10 were found guilty in criminal cases.

Thirty-five employees were suspended, nine were reprimanded and seven were ordered to pay fines as penalties for the charges for which they were held liable.

The Central Board of Assessment Appeals (CBAA), the DOF-attached agency that decides on real property tax assessment cases, received appeals involving some P1.92 billion-worth of real property taxes in 2021, the DOF said.

As a quasi-judicial body, 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.

In 2021, five cases decided by the CBAA remain pending with the Court of Tax Appeals, with four others decided in its favor.

Twenty cases were elevated to the Supreme Court, with six decided in favor of the CBAA decision, according to Gualberto Oyzon, CBAA hearing officer.

Oyzon said 100 percent 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.

He said nine out of 10 cases submitted for decision to the CBAA were resolved within 90 days.

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