COA exec: Napoles defrauded gov’t with spurious receipts

Office of the Commission on Audit Photo from https://www.coa.gov.ph/

MANILA, Philippines — Alleged mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles defrauded government with spurious receipts using similar Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) permit numbers, a state auditor said on Friday.

During Napoles’ bail hearing from plunder at the Sandiganbayan, Assistant Commissioner Susan Garcia said this is illegal because the BIR only issues a unique permit number for the printing of the official receipts for each business establishment.

Napoles used three BIR permit numbers for the printing of receipts for Napoles’ company TNU Trading, Garcia said.

“We noted that the TNU is using three BIR permits to print official receipts,” Garcia said.

“(The receipts were used) to defraud government with questionable (taxation),” she added.

Garcia also said another Napoles’ company MMRC Trading used the same BIR permit as a Napoles’ foundation Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation (Mamfi) and another supplier allegedly for Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s pork barrel funded project.

The state auditor also said they validated six of the NGOs linked to Napoles and found that they were located in bogus locations such as garages and residential houses.

For their part, Napoles’ lawyer Stephen David said Napoles should not be held liable for the spurious receipts.

He said the printing company officials and the BIR officials should be held liable.

Napoles is accused of masterminding the scam of pillaging lawmakers’ public funds to ghost projects for
kickbacks. Detained for plunder case are Senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada, as well as aides Richard Cambe and Gigi Reyes. Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, meanwhile, is in the hospital under police custody pending his motion for hospital arrest.