Ex-BIR chief triumphs in plunder case

People Power Coalition (PPC) senatorial candidate Liwayway Vinzons-Chato remains true to her reputation as a graft-buster.

In her capacity as commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, she filed the very first criminal case of economic plunder against Dominga Manalili, a BIR cashier, and her co-conspirators.

In a landmark decision, Judge Diosdado Peralta of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court convicted Manalili and her four accomplices to double life imprisonment. At the same time, it praised the efforts of Chato and her colleagues.

"The court hereby commends the Bureau of Internal Revenue then headed by Madam Liwayway Vinzons-Chato, its Tax Fraud Division presently headed by Atty. Edwin Abella, and Prosecution Division headed by Atty. Osias Baldovino, for the investigative skills the Bureau of Internal Revenue performed and demonstrated leading to the unearthing of the so-called BIR scam, and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption for their untiring dedication in monitoring corruption cases involving large amounts of public funds," the court stated its decision.

While Manalili has already spent two years in jail, her associates remain at large. They were convicted for having amassed public funds amounting to P260 million by opening two unauthorized bank accounts in the name of the BIR. They then withdrew the revenue payments by issuing checks payable to themselves.