AN OFFICIAL of the Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Gensan is facing charges before the Office of the Ombudsman-Mindanao after he allegedly failed to file his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (Salnw) for the years 2007 and 2009.
Facing charges for violation of the Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees is Cabili Makmd Lucas, special agent of BOC-Port of Gensan.
Special Prosecution Officer 1 Jessie Lariosa found probable cause to charge Lucas based on the complaint of field investigation officer Ana Maria Raz Banaag.
In a seven-page resolution dated May 26, 2014, Lariosa said the case stemmed from the complaint filed by Banaag who revealed that Lucas did not file his Salnw for 2009 and 2007 based on the records of the Civil Service Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman.
The resolution was approved by Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Rodolfo Elman.
Lucas cited in his counter affidavit that he had filed his 2007 Salnw on April 9, 2008 to the administrative officer of BOC-Port of Gensan. But he contended that his Saln was misplaced and was later found to be attached to his 201 file.
Lucas also insisted that there was no need to submit a Salnw for 2009 claiming that there was no increase in his assets and liabilities.
Sometime in June 2010, he received information that he was required to submit his 2009 Salnw on or before June 18. But he was reportedly assigned at the Port of Glan in Saranggani that time so it was only on November 10, 2010 that he was able to submit his 2009 Salnw.
It was not enough reason for Lucas, however, as Lucas cited in his resolution, “The law is clear. All Salnw must be filed on or before April 30 of every year. It must be stressed that the law made use of the must in prescribing the period within which to submit the said document. It is not enough, therefore, that every government official/employee files a Salnw. It is also imperative that every government employee file his/her Salnw on time since it is an essential requirement of the law. Respondent regrettably failed to comply.”
The respondent was charged for violation of Section 8a (Statements and Disclosure-real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value and current fair market value) of RA 6713.