7 draw jail terms for tax credit scam

SEVEN former Department of Finance (DOF) officials and employees, and the owners of three garment firms have been sentenced by the Sandiganbayan to prison terms ranging from six to 50 years in connection with a tax credit scam in 1997 and 1998.

The antigraft court’s Special First and Fifth Divisions have found the DOF personnel guilty of defrauding the government of millions of pesos when they allowed the three garment firms to make fraudulent tax claims, the Office of the Ombudsman announced on Monday.

The DOF officers issued the three garment firms tax credit certificates (TCCs) from 1997 to 1998 without legal basis and without the required supporting documents, the Sandiganbayan said.

Fake, forged

A TCC acts as a tax refund that the government grants to a company, usually an exporter, as incentive.

Led by then Deputy Executive Director Uldarico Andutan Jr., the DOF officers “blatantly disregarded” established procedures when they accepted and approved the garment companies’ tax claims, although the three firms submitted mere photocopies of import, export and bank documents, prosecutors showed.

The documents were reportedly later found to be fake and full of forged signatures.

In some TCC applications, the same sets of documents were reportedly “recycled” or repeatedly used by different tax claimants.

“The defects are noticeable even without having to pay a closer look (at) the documents,” the Sandiganbayan said. “The acts (of the accused) did not simply suggest negligence and bad judgment but a conscious doing of a wrong.”

Andutan was found guilty of five counts of graft. As each count carried six to 10 years of imprisonment, he would serve 30 up to 50 years in prison.

Supervising tax specialist Raul de Vera was convicted of one count of graft; senior tax specialist Rosanna Diala and garment division reviewer officer in charge Miriam Tasarra, with four counts; and evaluators Gladys Olaño, Irene Magbojos and Lucila Cueto with one count each.

Estafa

Also convicted were businessmen Mukesh Uttamchandani and Olivia Demetrio of Precision Garments International and Kuldip Singh of J.K. Apparel Manufacturing Inc. and United Apparel Manufacturing Inc.

The Ombudsman said Andutan, De Vera, Uttamchandani and Demetrio were also convicted of estafa and sentenced to another four up to 20 years imprisonment.

All the accused were ordered to pay a total of P28,514,371 as civil liability.

The Ombudsman said the court shelved the criminal cases against another principal accused in the tax credit scam, former Finance Undersecretary Antonio Beliceña, reportedly “due to his mental condition.”

The court reportedly based its order on findings of the National Center for Mental Health.

Beliceña has been slapped with several counts of graft along with Andutan and other DOF officers and employees for a series of tax credit fraud from 1993 to 1998.

In March 2012, the Ombudsman dismissed 13 DOF officials, including Beliceña and Andutan, in connection with the tax credit scam cases.

Though Beliceña had already retired, his benefits were forfeited. He was perpetually disqualified from holding public office.