Modus used was ‘not an isolated transaction,’ says victims’ affidavits

This modus of victimizing taxpayers is not being done in an isolated transaction.”

These words appear in the the sworn statements of two victims of the Balamban land tax scam submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) region 7.

One woman, in her affidavit, said she discovered that after paying P8,500 to an employee in the Balamban municipal assessor’s office for capital gains tax and documentary stamps, the money never reached the BIR.

“The transfer transaction was not processed and the government is deprived of the collection,” she said.

In fact, fraudulent forms of a BIR Tax Payment Deposit slip bearing the logo of the Land Bank of the Philippines showed a bloated amount of the money earlier handed over.

The woman said she paid P8,500 to the fixer, a clerk of the assessor’s office, on Jan. 6, 2011. Two days later, she was given back a deposit slip as proof of payment, “which appears to be validated in the amount of P3,645 for Documentary Stamp Tax and P14,580 for the Captial Gains Tax” for a Deed of Sale for property bought in Balamban.

Mia (not her real name) told Cebu Daily News the clerk told her they could tamper the receipt so the fees would appear higher than the actual payment.

Both women who executed affidavits asked that their names not be published while the BIR investigation is going on. They said they fear reprisal.

NOT LIMITED

What alarms BIR officials and real estate agents is that the fraud may not be limited to the Balamban municipal assessor and two clerks earlier identified by several complainants.

The use of genuine-looking forms, with machine-stamped validation data, could be used in real estate transactions in other towns.

More cases of deception like this, victimizing buyers and sellers of land who pay national taxes to the BIR, are expected to surface as the BIR inquiry gets under way.

Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale yesterday said she would discuss investigating the scam in Monday’s caucus with members of the Provincial Board (PB).

This is the “first time,” she said, she encountered a land tax fraud of this scale.

“They should be investigated because assessors from other local government units better straighten up. Maybe there are similar scams like this going on elsewhere,” she said.

Magpale said she would also take this up with PB Member Alex Binghay, the former Balamban mayor, who earlier said he welcomed the exposé even as he lamented that his “trust” in the three municipal employees, whom he knew, was violated.

Mia, one of 10 individuals who are taking steps to formalize their complaints, advised other victims to come forward.

“Dili mahimo nga kutob lang ta sa istorya. Mopatim-aw unta ang ubang biktima kay dili mahimo nga padayon ning mga tawhana (government personnel who used their position for personal gain) sa ilang gibuhat (We can’t just talk and do nothing. I hope other victims come into the open because we must stop these government personnel from further doing irregularities),” Mia said in an interview.

They also intend to file a formal complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas, which is conducting a fact-finding inquiry.

Mia said she was anxious like the others that other parties involved in the fraud would get back at them.

“Pwerteng paita. Sila nagpahimos sa among kuwarta. Karon kami ang nahasol (It’s terrible. The culprits are enjoying our money and we are the ones who are inconvenienced),” Mia said in an inteview.

“Nabalaka mi apan kinahanglan mi mobarog sa among katungod. Di lalim. (We are worried abuot what might happen but we have to stand up for our rights. It is not easy be in this situation),” Mia told Cebu Daily News.

In her affidavit, she said, “This modus of victimizing taxpayers is not being done in an isolated transaction but it being done regularly to innocent taxpayers of the municipality to the prejudice of the public and most especially to the government.”

Mia said she was the trusted representative of a married couple who had bought land in Balamban.

She said she remitted the money to Sharie Melgar, a clerk of the assessor’s office.

After learning that the municipal assessor’s office was under investigation over doubts about BIR tax payments, she took a closer look at the Deed of Absolute Sale transaction, which was processed with Melgar. After checking the BIR office in Mandaue City, she found the discrepancy.

Another woman, a Balamban resident who executed an affidavit, said she filed a capital gains tax return and documentary stamp tax return on Dec. 6, 2010, in Balamban for a transfer transaction of a Deed of Absolute Sale with herself and her spouse as buyers.

When the scandal in Balamban broke and three municipal employees were “suspended for having malversed funds, I made verification with the (BIR) Revenue District Officer of Mandaue City as to the payments made by me.”

She was told by the BIR that the P13,500 paid under a BIRT Tax Payment Deposit slip on Dec. 6, 2010, and payment for documentary stamp tax for P3,375, both to the LBP issued to her, “were found to be of doubtful validity.”

She said she had paid a total of P16, 875 to the same assessment clerk, Melgar, in Balamban town.

A partial review by the Balamban HR officer, who was tasked by Mayor Ace Binghay to look into the complaints, showed that 100 out of 300 real estate tax transactions since 2009 were irregular.

The payments made ranged from P3,000 to P30,000.

On June 29, Mayor Binghay ended the inquiry and referred it to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) after being criticized that the town’s investigation was “biased.”

On June 15, several land buyers and sellers went to the Balamban town hall to complain about unremitted tax payments covered by fake BIR deposit slips.