Palace bucks calls for resignation of DOF chief amid corruption in BOC, BIR

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III. KING RODRIGUEZ/ Presidential Photo (FILE)

Malacañang on Wednesday rejected calls for the resignation of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III over his silence on the alleged corruption in revenue-generating agencies of the government particularly in the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

“The Palace finds no reason or basis for such call,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement, noting that Dominguez continues to enjoy the trust and confidence of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“As one of the President’s trusted economic managers, he steered our economy to become one of the best-performing growth leaders in the region and continues to perform remarkably,” he added.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Coalition Against Corruption (CAC) pointed out that Dominguez seems “unconcerned” about the corruption in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and BOC.

The anti-corruption group also said the President’s directive for a military takeover of the BOC is an indirect admission of the failure of the DOF to manage the agency under its wings.

However, Panelo insisted that under Dominguez, “revenue collections reached new record-highs, including the highest first quarter tax effort we have achieved in the past 25 years.”

“We expect Secretary Dominguez to maintain his superb work ethic for the rest of his stint in the Department of Finance,” he noted.

The Palace official also claimed that Dominguez is aware of the issues hounding the BOC.

He added that Dominguez will meet new Customs chief Rey Leonardo Guerrero to discuss the bureau’s operations.

“The corruption in the BOC is complex and the Secretary does not need to be blunt just to exhibit what he does to address it. He was in touch with former BOC Chief Isidro Lapeña and he is slated to meet with the new Customs head Rey Leonardo Guerrero regarding the bureau’s operations,” Panelo said.  /kga