BIR suspends 6 more personnel for failure to remit collections

Bureau of Internal Revenue building. AFP FILE PHOTO

Six more personnel at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have been suspended and slapped with administrative charges for failure to remit collections.

In a statement Tuesday, the country’s biggest tax-collection agency said the four revenue collections officers were charged with grave misconduct and serious dishonesty: Myla Avila (of the BIR’s revenue district office or RDO in Tuguegarao City); Virinda Raymundo (Legazpi City RDO); Joel Tiu (Bayugan City RDO) and Vivian Competente (Novaliches, Quezon City RDO).

Revenue collection officer Manuel Ong of Zamboanga City RDO, on the other hand, was charged with gross neglect of duty.

Revenue officer Oscar Tabirara of the BIR’s customer assistance division was also charged with gross neglect of duty as well as violation of reasonable office rules and regulations.

According to the BIR, Avila has failed to account, remit and deposit cash collections worth P241,905.39; Raymundo, P149,274.53; Tiu, P743,764.16; Competente, P344,170 (including P168,000 in missing documentary stamps); and Ong, almost P5.2 million.

As for Tabirara, the BIR said he “failed to secure and submit the required office clearance for his transfer from Parañaque RDO to the agency’s customer assistance division, did not submit his daily time records, and failed to turn over 16 tax case dockets assigned to him for audit/investigation.”

During the investigation, all six personnel were enjoined to explain their side but failed to do so, the BIR said, hence they were likewise slapped with 90-day preventive suspension.

READ: New BIR chief to sack erring examiners

Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay approved the filing of formal administrative charges as well as ordered the preventive suspension of the six BIR employees.

The BIR will also file criminal cases against five of the employees, except for Tiu, “whose case for malversation and failure to render an account under Articles 217 and 218 of the Revised Penal Code had already been filed before the Office of the Ombudsman,” the agency said.

“The charges against Avila, Raymundo, Tiu, Competente, Ong and Tabirara are grave offenses which carry with it the penalty of dismissal from the service if found guilty,” the BIR noted.

Last week, Dulay ordered the suspension of three allegedly erring tax examiners and endorsed the filing of formal charges for grave misconduct against them following a taxpayer complaint implicating the revenue officers in extortion. RAM/rga

READ: BIR chief Dulay suspends 3 ‘erring’ tax examiners