PRESS RELEASE

23 July 2010

The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed from the service an official of the Bureau of Internal Revenue for failing to file a true and detailed Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), and accumulating assets disproportionate to his income.

          Dismissed for Dishonesty, Grave Misconduct and Violation of Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) was Amado Q. Navarro, Revenue Officer IV at the BIR Central Office in Quezon City.

          The case against Navarro stemmed from an investigation conducted by the Department of Finance-Revenue Protection Service (DOF-RIPS), which is tasked to conduct lifestyle checks on officials and employees of the DOF as well as its attached agencies.

          In the complaint filed by DOF-RIPS, it was alleged that Navarro, who started at the BIR in 1980 as Revenue Officer I with an annual gross salary of only P11,904, was able to acquire several real properties including various residential lots in Baguio City and agricultural lands, commercial buildings, and a resort in La Union.

          The complaint alleged that although the said properties were declared in Navarro’s SALN from 1980 to 2002, they were “couched merely on general terms…without particularizing the respective acquisition cost of each property.”  The DOF-RIPS also averred that all of Navarro’s properties in Baguio City and La Union were acquired after 1980 only, and that he did not own any real property prior to his employment in the BIR.

          Navarro likewise failed to disclose in any of his SALN his business interests or financial connections in any business operations, although investigation revealed that he had several properties for lease, bikes for hire, a grocery store, and a gasoline station. In addition, he also has several vehicles allegedly registered in the name of his relatives although he had the beneficial use thereof, such as a Suzuki Grand Vitara, an Isuzu Bighorn, a Toyota FX, and an Opel Tigra.

          In a 21-page Decision, the Ombudsman ruled that Navarro committed grave misconduct and dishonesty “for failing to comply with Section 7 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Section 8 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards and Public Officials and Employees, requiring the submission of a true and detailed statement of assets and liabilities by a public officer or employee.”

In addition to the Dismissal, Navarro was also charged before the lower courts with four counts of Perjury under Art. 183 of the Revised Penal Code, and seven counts of violation of Sec. 7 of R.A. 3019.  A Petition for Forfeiture of unlawfully acquired properties was also ordered filed against Navarro before the Regional Trial Court of Baguio City.

In a separate case, the Ombudsman also ordered the filing of charges against Victor Cerniaz Barros, Special Agent II of the Bureau of Customs.

Barros was charged with two counts of Falsification of Public Documents under Art. 171 of the Revised Penal Code; five counts of violation of Sec. 7 of R.A. 3019; and one count of violation of Sec. 8 of R.A. 6713. 

He is facing charges of Falsification and Violation of Sec. 7 of R.A. 3019 for failing to declare a housing loan of P2 million in his 1995 SALN; a property in Laguna in his 1996 SALN; a Cherokee Pioneer V6 in his SALNs from 1989 to 2006; and a Mercedes Benz, a Kawasaki motorcycle, and shares of stock in a general service enterprise in his SALNs for 2003 to 2005.

He was also indicted for failing to file his SALN for the years 1980, 1982 to 1986, 1990, 1991, and 2006.

Moreover, it was found that from 1992 to 1995, Barros’ net worth had increased to P5.1 million although his income for the said period was only P1.12 million.

In a 53-page Joint Resolution, the Ombudsman said that “respondent, within a period of 13 years, has amassed wealth which is almost five times greater than the total annual gross compensation he had received from the government.”