DOF files charges against BOC official

MANILA, Philippines - A unit of the Department of Finance (DOF) has filed administrative and criminal complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against an official of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

The Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS), an anti-corruption unit under the DOF, filed corruption and graft charges against Rafael Mendoza Merencilla.

According to the 15-page complaint-affidavit filed by DOF-RIPs against Merencilla, his sworn Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) for the years 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996 and 2002 showed that he had amassed real estate properties through the years.

Against this backdrop, however, Merencilla’s gross annual salary is P449,676 which is only P37,473 monthly while his wife who also works at the BOC earns an annual gross income of P176,184.

The DOF unit said Merencilla had steadily acquired two real properties in Parañaque and Batangas City in 1992; four townhouses and another apartment in Sampaloc within the year 1996; as well as a farm in Lipa City and two more lots in Parañaque and Batangas City in 2002.

He also failed to declare the existence of certain vehicles registered under his name and his immediate family members.

To conceal the extent of his wealth, Merencilla and his wife stated fictitious loans from the state-owned Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) as cited in his 1996 to 2006 SALNs.

Aside from fictitious loans, misrepresentations were also made on their business interest wherein a passenger jeepney business was stated instead of the bus terminal registered under his wife’s name which had a four-year lapsed permit.

While the case is ongoing, the Ombudsman may preventively suspend Merencilla for no more than six months.

On the other hand, a guilty verdict against him will result in his dismissal from government service and forfeiture of his alleged ill-gotten wealth.