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Thursday, September 23, 2004
BIR exec cries foul over 'unwarranted suspension'
By Rimaliza Opiña
LAWYER Beverly Milo, former chief of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the Cordillera Administrative Region (BIR-CAR) Assessment Division, on Wednesday cried foul over her alleged unwarranted suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman.
A report on Milo's suspension came out in a national daily.
She was cited for dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and was reportedly suspended for six months without pay.
But Milo told reporters she was not accorded due process when the OMB conducted an investigation on her alleged unexplained wealth, as she was not furnished a copy of the complaint nor was she given the chance to clear the accusations hurled against her.
"My constitutional rights (to due process) were violated," Milo stressed.
The OMB had Milo investigated following a complaint that she amassed millions worth of properties when she was assigned as officer-in-charge of the Bureau's Assessment Division in 1996.
Milo's Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) of P71,400 in 1993 went up to as high as P2,264,000 in 2001.
Accordingly, the rise in her SALN is not commensurate to the salary she receives as an employee of the BIR.
It was also alleged that Milo under declared the 401 sq.m. lot worth P525,000 that she and her husband acquired way back in 1998.
Allegedly, she was able to mortgage the property in 2001 for P3,000,000, and that the five-storey building erected on the same lot, which she declared in her SALN to be worth P2,000,000, is also allegedly under declared as it was said that the building is more than the declared net worth.
An 85 sq.m. lot where another building was constructed was also allegedly never declared in her SALN.
Milo, in response to these allegations, claimed she never made any misrepresentation in her SALN, adding the accusations do not have legal basis and that the facts presented before the OMB were altered.
She said that before concluding that she amassed properties when she was assigned to the BIR assessment division 1996, the OMB should have considered that she got married to a wealthy man and whatever was brought into and acquired during their marriage is considered their conjugal property.
"The fact is (my husband) earns more than I do."
Milo said they got married in 1995.
She added the OMB did not consider her contention that her husband has several businesses, saying documents alleging that her husband's businesses have been registered at the BIR-Baguio are "deliberately missing."
Milo added the OMB also failed to account for her other sources of income, which she said, contributed to the increase in her SALN in 2001.
Aside from allowances given to government employees, Milo said "my salary from teaching after office hours and other pertinent sources, were not taken into consideration as they merely compared my basic monthly salary in the BIR on an annual basis with the increase in net worth."
She also denied allegations she under declared their 401 sq.m. property, saying the basis for the computation of the property is based on the prevailing market value, and not the cost, hence the declaration of only P2.5M.
She also denied reports there is a five-storey building at the lot, adding that if the claim of the complainant was that she did not declare this property in her SALN for 1995, it is because the property was acquired only in 1998.
She also denied the presence of a P2M worth building erected in their 87sq.m. property.
A certification issued by the Baguio City Assessors Office dated September 14, 2004, said "as per plotting of the Tax Mapping Division as of this date, there is no building assessed on this lot under the name of the declarant (spouses Richard and Beverly Milo)."
Last year, Milo was the subject of an investigative report conducted by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
In the report released May 2003, it said the investigation on Milo was prompted by an anonymous complaint.
The PCIJ also reported that when Milo was still revenue account officer of the BIR-CAR in 1990, her net worth was only P45,100, but by 2001, this went up to as high as P2M.
Milo is, at present, the chief of the assessment division of the BIR-Region 1.
Meantime, Milo said they intend to file a motion for reconsideration as soon as they get a formal copy of the OMB's decision.
(September 23, 2004 issue)
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