DOF anti-graft body files 85 cases vs suspected tax evaders

MANILA, Philippines - The anti-graft body of the Department of Finance logged its best-ever performance in its 11-year history with the filing of 85 cases against alleged tax evaders and corrupt state workers and officials in the first eight months of the year.

The number of cases filed by the Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) marked a 45 percent jump from the previous all-time record of 58 in 2013.

RIPS’ accomplishment in the successful decisions category also increased by 116 percent, obtaining 13 favorable decisions during the eight-month period.

Out of the 13 resolutions, six of them imposed the penalty of dismissal from the service. This is a marked improvement from the period of 2003 to 2013 when the average dismissal from the service attained by RIPS was one dismissal per year.

“This is the best performance RIPS has registered in history. These are encouraging numbers as we continue to investigate and crack down on erring public officials in our campaign to root out corruption and reform the government,” Finance Undersecretary Carlo A. Carag said.

According to the DOF, the number of cases filed against erring government officials, including Bureau of Customs (BOC) collectors, increased from only five in 2010 to 101  as of June 2014.

DOF data showed that a total of 108 personalities have been charged at the Office of the Ombudsman (76) and at the Civil Service Commission (27), while five personalities were referred to the concerned agency for formal filing of charges since the Aquino administration took office in mid-2010.

Launched in 2003, the RIPS aims to weed out corruption in the Department of Finance and its attached agencies by investigating allegations of wrongdoing and filing cases with the appropriate government agencies.