THREE officials of the Department of Finance (DOF) and a private defendant have been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan of six counts each of graft and estafa through falsification of public documents over the so-called tax credit certificate (TCC) scam.
In a 40-page decision penned by Associate Justice Edgardo M. Caldona, the anti-graft court’s Second Division held that the evidence presented by the prosecution against DOF One Stop Shop Inter-Agency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center (OSS Center) tax specialist Asuncion Magdaet and evaluators Charmelle Ricoter and Cherry Gomez did not amount to the degree of proof required to convict them of alleged anomalous processing and approval of P16.49 million TCCs in favor of Filstar Textile Industrial Corp.
“While accused Magdaet, Ricoter, and Gomez admitted to being public officials during the time relevant to the instant criminal cases, their respective acts were devoid of any taint of criminal intent which would make them accountable,” the court declared.
Associate Justices Oscar C. Herrera Jr. and Arthur O. Malabaguio concurred.
Also acquitted was Filstar corporate secretary Grace Chingkoe, who was only a nominee in Filstar and was not the beneficial owner of any of its stocks.
Based on the charges filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2009, the DOF OSS issued six TCCs in favor of Filstar from 1995 to 1997.
Prosecutors said among the support documents submitted by Filstar and accepted by the accused DOF officials were the purchase of cotton fibers from FLB International Fiber Corp. in February 1995 and bills of lading for finished dyed cotton yarn on board Seabridge Container Line in May 1995.
Graft investigators, however, said the purchase transaction was bogus since FLB International never went operational and hence could not possibly have supplied Filstar with raw materials.
On the other hand, they said Seabridge Container Line stopped operating under the said name as of September 25, 1984, or more than 10 years before the supposed Filstar export shipment hence there was no valid bill of lading.
Also charged in all cases were former DOF Undersecretary Antonio Belicena who died during the pendency of the cases, and OSS Center deputy director Uldarico Andutan who remains at large.
In acquitting Magdaet, Ricoter and Gomez, the Sandiganbayan held that conspiracy among the accused public officials and private defendant Chingkoe to defraud the government was not established.
“The mere fact that Magdaet, Gomez, and Ricoter signed the checklist and evaluation report relative to the application of Filstar to tax credit would not justify the conclusion that they are conspirators,” the court pointed out.
