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Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Ombud seeks to freeze BIR chief’s P5.8M
CEBU -- After dismissing him from service and charging him before the court, the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas now wants to get hold of Nieto Racho’s P5 million in bank deposits.
Deputy Ombudsman Primo Miro confirmed this in an interview Monday, saying they want the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) special investigation chief to undergo a proceeding so the government can recover the funds.
“The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) will handle the case but it will be filed here. We will freeze his assets and get it,” he said.
He said they have already sent documents to the anti-graft office’s Office of Legal Affairs in Manila.
However, Miro admitted the task might be difficult. He said Racho, who has not denied the existence of the accounts, might have moved the money elsewhere.
The OSG needs to act quickly and file the necessary petitions to freeze Racho’s accounts, he said.
Miro earlier ordered Racho’s dismissal for being unable to explain why he has P5.8 million in three Cebu-based banks and for not listing this in his statements of assets and liabilities (SALs).
Ombudsman Director Virginia Santiago recommended the penalty after finding the official guilty of dishonesty and falsification.
A criminal case was also filed against Racho last Friday.
Based on the case’s records, the anti-graft office initiated the investigation against the tax official after a news organization submitted certifications of Racho’s 1999 bank deposits at the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (P2,932,896.27), Bank of the Philippine Islands (P1,632,282.50) and Equitable PCI Bank (P1,228,702.53).
Examination of the official’s SALs from 1995 to 2000 showed that Racho only declared P1 million as his cash in the bank.
In his counter-affidavit, Racho did not deny the existence of the accounts but questioned the anti-graft office’s authority to conduct the investigation.
Santiago, however, said numerous Supreme Court rulings reinforce the anti-graft office’s authority to do the probe.
The fact that the figures Racho declared in his SALs and the figures in the bank certificate do not match “already constitutes substantial evidence” to administratively convict Racho, she said.
The SAL is an annual requirement of the Office of the Ombudsman. It is meant to promote transparency as it reveals a public official’s sources of income, business interests and loans, if any.
Government officials may face investigation for unexplained wealth under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. KNR/Sun.Star Cebu |
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