Tax credit scam: 5 ex-DOF execs get 8 years

MANILA, Philippines —  The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of five former officials of the Department of Finance (DOF) for graft over the multibillion-peso tax credit scam in the 1990s.

In a 16-page resolution promulgated yesterday, the anti-graft court’s Third Division said the former DOF officials failed to raise any new meritorious arguments in their respective motions for reconsideration that would warrant the reversal of the Aug. 11, 2023 decision finding them guilty of violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The Sandiganbayan denied the motions for reconsideration of former acting DOF deputy executive director Raul de Vera, textile division officer-in-charge and tax reviewer Asuncion Magdaet, tax specialists Mark Binsol and Purita Napeñas as well as clerk and evaluator Cherry Gomez.

They served under the DOF’s One-Stop Shop Inter-Agency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center.

The Third Division found De Vera guilty of two counts of graft. Binsol, Napeñas and Gomez were proven guilty of one count each of the same offense.

Magdaet was found guilty of 24 counts of graft, which the Office of the Ombudsman filed in 1999.

The Third Division sentenced them to up to eight years in prison and perpetually disqualified them from public office.

The cases stemmed from the DOF’s issuance of 40 Tax Credit Certificates (TCCs) worth P103.04 million in favor of Scope Industries Inc. despite the textile company’s submission of fake documents.

Of the 40 TCCs, the ombudsman said 24 were illegally transferred or sold by Scope to Dragon Textile Mills Inc., which the latter utilized to pay its taxes and customs obligations.

The Third Division had dismissed the cases filed against former DOF undersecretary Antonio Belicena following his death in 2021.