BIR official who failed lifestyle check suspended

A senior official of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has been ordered suspended for six months by Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo for "amassing unexplained wealth," the Office of the Ombudsman announced yesterday.

BIR Assistant Commissioner Edwin Abella faces administrative charges of dishonesty, falsification and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Marcelo has ordered BIR chief Guillermo Parayno to put Abella on preventive suspension without pay.

"The period for the preventive suspension shall continue until the case is terminated but shall not exceed six months," the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement.

The charges came after a "lifestyle check" on government officials revealed that Abella failed to declare several properties as well as his business interests in his annual statement of assets and liabilities.

Government officials — including the President — are required by the anti-graft law to submit a statement on their net worth at the end of the year to see if they are illegally amassing wealth.

Violations are punishable by fine or suspension or both depending on the gravity of the offense.

These disclosures also cover net worth and other financial and business interests’ of public officials, their spouses and relatives.

Despite an annual income of P322,000, Abella owns several properties in Quezon City, including one valued at P10 million, the Office of the Ombudsman said.

Abella allegedly tried to conceal the true ownership of the P10-million property, located in Xavierville Subdivision.

The property was bought by a corporation, GAR Ventures and Holdings, Inc., which the Office of the Ombudsman said was only a front.

Government investigators found that GAR Ventures’ office address in Makati City was fictitious. They questioned how a company with a paid-up capital of P100,000 could purchase a P10-million property.

GAR Ventures "is nothing more than a vehicle by which respondent can hide his unlawfully acquired properties and evade investigation or criminal prosecution thereof," the Office of the Ombudsman said.

The STAR failed to reach Abella for comment.

Various international agencies have expressed concern about massive corruption in the Philippines, which analysts say has discouraged foreign investors.

Independent estimates suggest at least a fifth of the government budget is lost through graft.

The BIR and the Bureau of Customs are widely believed to be two of the most corrupt government offices.

Procurement Watch Inc., a local watchdog group, estimated that the Philippines loses P21 billion a year to corruption in the procurement of government goods and services alone.

About 15 percent of the cost of all government contracts is also lost to corruption, it said.

Mrs. Arroyo launched an anti-corruption campaign in January last year that included "lifestyle checks" on government officials.

Widespread corruption was hampering her administration’s efforts to revitalize the country’s poverty-stricken economy, she said.

Mrs. Arroyo pledged to curb corruption when she took over the presidency in 2001 from the scandal-tainted Joseph Estrada, who is now on trial for plunder.

Estrada was toppled by a military-backed popular revolt in early 2001 following allegations of massive corruption.

Estrada is now on trial for allegedly running an illegal gambling protection racket and pocketing state funds during his aborted 31-month presidency. He denies the charges and claims he was illegally ousted.