BIR exec fakes birth record

An officer of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Bacolod City was charged with falsification of public documents after the Ombudsman determined that he had forged his birth records to make it appear he was four years younger.

Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo approved yesterday the indictment of Godofredo San Jose of BIR District 77 in Bacolod.

Birth records obtained by the Ombudsman showed that San Jose was born on Feb. 2, 1934 in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental.

But in his personal data sheet and other official documents, he reset his birth year to 1938. He also put down his place of birth as Iloilo City.

The date change allowed San Jose to stay longer in the service.

"He compulsorily retired from the BIR in 2003 when he should have retired in 1999," the Ombudsman said.

The documents that gave San Jose away were his 1961 bond application for government employees, the BIR information sheets for 1960—61, his data sheets in July 1969 and March 1973, his statement of assets and liabilities for 1971—1972, and his GSIS information sheet in July 1976.

"There is sufficient evidence to prove that San Jose was born in February 1934, not 1938," said the Ombudsman.

San Jose now faces the prospect of law suits before metropolitan trial courts in three different places in the Visayas — Dumaguete City, Binalbagan in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.

Ombudsman spokesman Ernesto Nocos said that San Jose had used his bogus birthday in filling out government forms in Dumaguete in 1988, Negros Occidental in 1990 and Bacolod in 1995.

Graft prober Ramon Pamular wrote in his three-page recommendation that it was not necessary to prove that San Jose intended to harm the public interest.

He condemned San Jose’s actions as a "violation of public faith" and "destruction of the truth."