Retired BIR exec seeks updating of online news accounts to reflect dismissal of cases against him

MANILA, Philippines—Percival Salazar has long retired as assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, but he is dogged to this day by cases filed against him that have already been dismissed.

Salazar lamented that until now online news sites still carry stories that he had been charged before the Ombudsman and the Office of the President (OP) for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

But the cases were dismissed in 2004 and 2007, he said.

“My relatives know that I had been cleared. But news of the charges are still there. I feel bad. When the charges came out, we were headlined. Our pictures were plastered on the front pages,’’ said the retired official, 73, who spoke with and furnished the Inquirer copies of the resolutions dismissing the charges against him.

Salazar worked at the BIR for 41 years, rising from the ranks to become assistant commissioner, a position he held until he retired in 2004.

In January 2004, the OP, citing lack of evidence, dismissed the charges filed by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism against him for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials.

PCIJ’s complaint stemmed from the alleged failure of Salazar to file a true and detailed statement of assets and liabilities, which should include reference to certain properties in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

Then in November 2007, the Ombudsman also dismissed the charges against Salazar for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Republic Act 1379 and falsification of public documents for lack of probable cause.

The complainant, intelligence officer Napoleon Guerrero of the Department of Finance’s Central Management Information Office, accused Salazar of conniving with his wife and children to conceal four parcels of land whose worth, he claimed, was beyond the official’s income.

Guerrero alleged that Salazar used the Phoenix Printing Philippines Inc., of which his wife and children were majority shareholders, as a dummy corporation to conceal these properties.  Salazar denied owning the properties which he said were acquired by the corporation.

The Ombudsman ruled that Guerrero’s allegation that the corporation was used as a shield by Salazar to conceal properties was baseless since the latter was not a shareholder.

“After a thorough evaluation of the facts and evidence on record, this Office finds no probable cause to hold respondent Percival Salazar and the respondent corporation, Phoenix Printing Philippines Inc… liable for the offenses charged,’’ the Ombudsman said.

After discovering a alleged discrepancies in their income and assets during a lifestyle check, the Department of Finance filed in 2003 charges of unexplained wealth against three key BIR officials, including Salazar, and a Customs official.