3 N. Cotabato tax collectors fired for stealing over P2M

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato – Mayor Joselito Piñol of the town of Mlang said Wednesday he has fired three municipal employees after an administrative investigation showed they had pocketed over P2 million in local tax collections.

“They were discharged from service [effective January 2] due to missing tax collections amounting to more than P2 million in 2013,” Piñol said.

He said Ramundo Papna, Mark Diel and Julius Magallosa, all assigned to the municipal treasurer’s office as tax collectors, had admitted pocketing the cash “for personal use.”

Piñol said that after the disappearance of the collections was discovered in October, he ordered the preventive suspension of the three employees while an investigation and audit was undertaken.

Piñol said the investigation showed Papna, Diel and Magallosa did not remit to the town treasurer’s office their collections for the year. In all, Papna allegedly pocketed P1.2 million, Diel, P752,000, and Magallosa, P140,000.

“Diel and Magallosa, respectively, returned part of their missing collections, explaining that they used the amount for medical needs of relatives and other emergency purposes,” Piñol said, adding, “still it was not enough ground to justify their acts.”

Piñol said the three have been charged with graft in the office of the Ombudsman Mindanao.

The Inquirer could not locate any of the three to get their side.