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MANILA - A Bureau of Customs collector will be suspended for six months without pay as the Office of the Ombudsman investigates his alleged failure to disclose assets as well as inconsistent declarations in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.
In a statement, the Department of Finance said its Revenue Integrity Protection Service filed a complaint on June 19 against Customs district collector Enrico T. Turingan Jr., assigned at the Port of Aparri, after bureau investigation showed that he failed to account for his two real properties in Talisay, Batangas; businesses; a house and lot in Muntinlupa; a condominium unit; and foreign travels.
According to the Registry of Deeds of Tanauan, the parcels of land are registered under the names of Turingan and his wife, Susana Arellano. A concrete fence surrounding the properties to improve these assets was also not reported in his SALNs nor declared for tax purposes.
Under the law, public officials and employees must disclose "a true and detailed statement" of their assets, liabilities, net worth, business interests and financial connections.
The DOF-RIPS said Turingan's 2001 and 2010 SALNs indicated that he consistently declared a parcel of land in Batangas allegedly bought in 1992, but the parcels of land in Talisay, as well as the solid enclosure were absent in his SALNs.
Moreover, the Customs collector did not declare his piggery and poultry businesses, as his 2009 SALN showed that his personal properties only amounted to P40,000.
“Upon inquiry, it was discovered that it is not simply a backyard chicken breeding but a business venture given the massive scope of its operation. As it is, this makes his declaration as to his cock breeding in his personal assets undervalued as well,” the DOF-RIPS said in its complaint against the Customs employee.
The anti-graft unit of the DOF said Turingan declared the values of his properties at their respective fair market values and not by their acquisition costs, as directed under the law.
According to a Supreme Court 2002 ruling in Republic v. Sandiganbayan and Bugarin, the value of properties should be declared using the "acquisition cost thereof, since it was the actual amount of money shelled out by respondent in acquiring them. It is the acquisition cost that must be charged against respondent’s lawful income and funds.”
Aside from the Batangas properties, Turingan also had alleged disparities in the declared acquisition costs of his house and lot in Muntinlupa and an alleged "misrepresentation of the value of a student condominium.
The Customs collector also failed to secure the necessary travel authority for his four foreign trips made from 1994 to 1997 based on the certification made by the Bureau of Immigration.
To date, RIPS has filed 112 graft and lifestyle cases against 153 personalities and secured 61 suspensions and 21 dismissals from service of errant officials and employees under DOF.
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