CEBU, Philippines - It’s up to the Municipal Government of Balamban to decide whether to release the benefits of Municipal Assessor Tita Yray, who is accused of being involved in a scam involving land taxes.
The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas through Assistant Deputy Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago said that if Yray has no pending unpaid advances and liabilities from the government, the town may grant her benefits.
Yray, who took an early retirement effective July 1, 2011, asked for the release of her terminal benefits in the amount of P81,000.
Santiago said even there is an investigation conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman, this can’t stop the town from releasing Yray’s benefits.
Napoleon Moralde, municipal human resource manager, earlier went to the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission asking if they can release the terminal benefits of Yray.
Earlier, some complainants went to the Office of the Ombudsman to file a complaint for fraud against Yray and her two staff members Sharee Melgar and Lucille Agua.
The complainants alleged that Yray, Melgar and Agua were involved in property sales tax scam.
The Municipal Assessor’s Office is not authorized to accept payments in relation to real estate, buildings and machinery, according to Councilor Bernabe Gonzales Jr.
About 300 people were reportedly tricked by Yray, Melgar and Agua who offered to process the transfer of ownership of real estate and facilitate their capital gains tax payments to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
The complainants alleged that every time they gave a payment to Yray, Melgar and Agua, they were given BIR tax payment deposits slips from the Land Bank of the Philippines that turned out to be fake.
Some P3 million total payments made by them and facilitated by Yray, Melgar and Agua were not remitted to the BIR.
The complainants said that aside from capital gains tax, they were asked to pay transfer of tax declaration fee, notary service, representation and P125 to obtain a tax identification number. (FREEMAN)