SC staff dismissed for falsification of public documents

The Supreme Court en banc has ordered the outright dismissal of one of its staff officers found guilty of tax evasion through falsification of public documents.

The justices headed by Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. have turned down the apology of Reynaldo B. Generoso, supervising judicial staff officer of SC's Systems Planning and Project Management, who admitted his guilt when an investigation was conducted.

Generoso was investigated for dishonesty and falsification of official documents after the Supreme Court received an anonymous letter informing it about his activities.

It was found out that in 1993, Generoso had only one child in the name of Jeanelle, but reflected in his income tax returns submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was that he had two children. A tax payer can avail of P8,000 in deduction from his taxable income for each child he has. Generoso admitted that indeed he perpetrated the falsification charge against him, explaining that being the breadwinner at the time, he needed to augment his income to meet the needs of his family. When Generoso entered the Supreme Court in 1993, he was hired only as computer maintenance technician with an annual gross income of P62,412.00.

The Supreme Court said by intentionally declaring incorrect information with the end view of gaining some benefit for himself, Generoso caused damage to the Court which ultimately caused damage to the government. "His act constitutes dishonesty and, at the same time, falsification of official document because of the presence of all the elements of the offense in the instant case. His explanation that he merely wanted to have a son at that time which reason prompted him in declaring a fictitious child in his W-4 Form, is not just very flimsy but is totally absurd," the SC said. - Rene U. Borromeo