INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Sandiganbayan has convicted a corporate secretary for graft for her involvement in a tax credit scam that cheated government of P1,832,440 in tax credit.
In an 53-page supplemental decision by the Sandiganbayan First Division, the anti-graft court found Marina Abran of United Apparel Mfg. Inc. guilty beyond reasonable doubt of two counts of graft for causing injury to the government in the grant of tax credit by the Department of Finance (DOF) under the One Stop Shop tax credit program.
Abran was arraigned and pleaded not guilty in 2002 but she jumped bail. She was tried by the court in abstentia.
The court made the decision as supplemental to its earlier ruling in June convicting former finance deputy executive director Uldarico Andutan Jr., who headed the DOF’s One Shop Stop Center, for approving the tax-credit claim despite spurious documents from 1997 to 1998.
READ: Ex-finance official, 5 others guilty of graft for tax credit scam
The court said Abran, as corporate secretary of United Apparel, was the one who signed as the “buyer” in the sales invoices and delivery receipts that spuriously showed United Apparel purchased raw materials from different suppliers.
The court also said Abran was a signatory to a number of invoices on behalf of United Apparel, as well as export declarations and packing lists to make it appear the company sold and shipped products abroad.
But the court said these documents prepared by Abran, which were used to back up the claims for tax credit, were spurious and were mere photocopies.
The court said the documents were mere photocopies and not original or certified true copies, which was a condition for the grant of tax credit.
“(T)he supporting documents have been previously declared to be photocopies and/or spurious… Given accused Abran’s participation in the documentation process, which culminated in the issuance of (tax credit certificate)… it is evident that indeed she conspired with her co-accused who were already convicted, in order that United Apparel may be granted tax credit notwithstanding non-compliance with the requirements, to the damage and prejudice of the government,” the court said.
The court sentenced Abran to six years and one month as minimum to 10 years as maximum for each of her two counts of graft for causing injury to government.
The court ordered Abran to join her fellow convicted officials to indemnify government with P1,832,440 to the national treasury.
The decision was penned by division chairperson Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz, and concurred in by Associate Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos.
The tax credit scam spanned five years (1993 to 1998) when former Finance Undersecretary Antonio Belicena headed the DOF’s One Stop Shop-Inter Agency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center as its executive director under the administration of former President Fidel V. Ramos.
READ: What Went Before: Timeline of 22-year-old tax credit certificates scam cases
Tax credit certificates or TCCs are government refunds of duties and taxes given to manufacturing companies that produce local goods for export.
Under the scam, the DOF center processed fake commercial documents without verification. The tax credits were then sold or illegally transferred to other business entities by making the companies appear as suppliers of raw materials.
Belicena’s cases over the tax credit scam were archived as he was incompetent to stand trial due to dementia, a disease associated with old age.
READ: Tax credit cases take too long–dementia hits accused
More tax credit scam cases have been resolved by other court divisions.
READ: Ex-finance execs in tax credit scam convicted of graft, estafa
In a decision promulgated on Feb. 29, anti-graft court Fifth Division convicted Andutan and four others of graft and estafa for granting P27.8 million in tax credits to Precision Garments International in 1998 even though it submitted spurious documents which allowed the company to sell its tax credit to Steel Asia Manufacturing Corp.
Meanwhile, the anti-graft court First Division earlier approved the dismissal of graft and estafa charges against Andutan over the Ombudsman’s inordinate delay in filing the cases before the Sandiganbayan. RAM/rga