Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Officials call for BIR director's suspension
CAGAYAN de Oro officials have stepped into the fray inside the regional office of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), calling on Finance Secretary Margarito Tevez to suspend BIR-Northern Mindanao Regional Director Mustapha Gandarosa.
Gandarosa is facing criminal and administrative charges over the alleged mauling of lawyer Nashrollah Conding, BIR-Northern Mindanao acting legal officer, right inside the agency's office in Cagayan de Oro.
Mayor Constantino Jaraula assured he would personally appeal to Tevez to take on effect Gandarosa's suspension in a meeting with Conding's relatives Tuesday.
The same request was made by the City Council in its regular session Tuesday.
Councilor Ramon Tabor, the resolution's proponent, said the squabble inside the BIR-Northern Mindanao "has tarnished the image of not only the agency, but also of Cagayan de Oro."
"We are getting feedback that taxpayers are already scared transacting business inside the BIR-Northern Mindanao. The mauling of a top-level BIR official inside its own office is reprehensible," the councilor told Sun.Star.
In his complaint before the City Prosecution Office, Conding alleged that Gandarosa repeatedly punched him with the help of his armed bodyguards.
Gandarosa also threatened to kill him last February 14.
Conding was taken to the hospital after the incident.
Gandarosa's lawyer, Frederico Gapuz, denied that the incident took place, turning the tables instead on Conding by saying it was the lawyer who was causing "troubles" inside the BIR office.
In supporting Gandarosa's suspension, Mayor Jaraula made it clear that he was favoring neither Gandarosa nor Conding.
Gandarosa's brush with local officials started shortly after he assumed office in 2006, right after he repeatedly snubbed an inquiry on the businessmen's complaints that tax collectors were mulcting money from them.
The 13th City Council responded by declaring him persona non-grata.
Datu sa Guimba Gulam Dianalan, one of Conding's relatives, said they are demanding justice and decided to seek Jaraula's help in order to "solve the problem peacefully and "avoid bloodshed."
Datu Dianalan, who is a former mayor in Marawi City, said their demand for justice can start with Gandarosa's suspension and subsequent reassignment to other places while the investigation against him is on-going.
Gandarosa has been evading the media since the incident broke out. This paper has attempted several times to get his side on the matter to no avail.
Conding said his long-standing rift with Gandarosa started when he was fired from his position purportedly for no apparent reason. He said the animosity intensified when he and three other BIR employees filed a case with the Mindanao Ombudsman against Gandarosa on June 2007 for grave misconduct and violation of RA 3019 or the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Conding has also filed another case against Gandarosa with the Civil Service Commission last week.
According to Saripoden Guro, a BIR examiner who witnessed the incident, Gandarosa was very angry upon learning that another case has been filed against him and immediately confronted Conding at the third floor of the BIR office.
Guro said he saw Gandarosa punch Conding repeatedly along with his bodyguards. The mauling only stopped when another employee who was also a Muslim tried to pacify Gandarosa, giving Conding time to run away. (DVAIII with Ma. Cecilia Rodriguez)
