Bureau of Customs official faces graft raps for illegal wealth

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Finance (DOF) has filed graft charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against a Bureau of Customs (BOC) official for allegedly amassing illegal wealth.

Romeo Tomas Jr., executive director of the DOF’s Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS), said BOC operations officer Visitacion Difuntorum, on a gross annual salary of P265,228, amassed P60 million worth of properties that are not included in her annual Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth.

Tomas said this includes four separate parcels of land in Quezon City, three upscale residential houses in various locations, a three-storey building in Samar, a resort and an agricultural lot in Tarlac, as well as residential, commercial and agricultural lands in various areas in Samar.

“It was likewise established that the respondent maliciously suppressed and concealed her ownership of certain properties which she failed to declare in her (SALN), apart from fraudulently overstating and inflating her so-called liabilities,” DOF-RIPS said.   – Iris Gonzales