Landbank-Cotabato official faces charges

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Finance’s (DOF) anti-corruption unit has filed criminal and administrative charges against a ranking official of the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) for allegedly amassing ill-gotten wealth.

Gil Benavidez Noble, division chief of Landbank’s Kidapawan City, North Cotabato branch is facing charges for violations of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, RA 1379 or An Act Declaring Forfeiture in favor of the State Any Property found to have been Unlawfully Acquired by any Public Officer or Employee and Providing for the Proceedings therefore, as well as the Revised Penal Code.

The case stemmed from an investigation conducted by the DOF’s Revenue Integrity Protection Service (DOF-RIPS) into the lifestyle, assets and properties of Noble upon the request of Landbank’s central office on account of numerous complaints against him concerning anomalous land transaction deals.

In a complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, the DOF unit alleged that Noble concealed his ownership of properties that included real estate assets and motor vehicles.

DOF-RIPS said Noble did not file his Statements of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) in the past 20 years except for the years 1990 and 2000.

But he did not declare any real property in his 1990 SALN, although he acquired a farm lot in 1989. The DOF-RIPS also discovered that there are other undeclared real properties including an industrial machine, residential and commercial building, rice lowland and a 500-square meter lot, registered under the name of Noble, as evidenced by their tax declarations.