Ex-Customs official gets jail term for lying in SALN

MANILA, Philippines – The Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) of the Department of Finance (DOF-RIPS) said it scored a “major victory” on Tuesday, March 11, when a Manila court meted out a jail term to a former Customs examiner who misdeclared her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

The conviction was a “first” for DOF-RIPS, the DOF’s anti-corruption arm, since it was created 10 years ago. It said it was proof of the government’s resolve to go after erring civil servants even after they have left public service.

“This court decision will send a strong message to the staff of the department and our attached agencies that even if you resign or retire, we will run after you,” said Finance Undersecretary Carlo Carag, head of the DOF Revenue Operations and Legal Affairs Group.

In an 18-page decision, Judge Amalia Gumapos-Ricablanca of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila Branch 15 found resigned Customs examiner Ana Marie Concepcion Maglasang guilty of 5 counts perjury, and sentenced her to a jail term of 4 months and one day to one year and one day, for each count.

Maglasang was also found guilty of violating Section 7 of Republic Act 3019 ot Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and sentenced to pay a fine of P5,000 for failure to declare certain assets in her SALN.

‘Beyond reasonable doubt’

In her decision, Ricablanca said the complainant “proved beyond reasonable doubt” that Maglasang  committee perjury since she failed to declare all her assets in her sworn SALNs from 1999 to 2003.

The case stemmed from a letter complaint received by DOF-RIPS in 2004 against Maglasang and her sister, Matilda Millare, a former chief Customs operations officer.

The DOF-RIPS said an exhaustive investigation and lifestyle check showed Maglasang and Millare as separate registered owners of luxury vehicles and homes in exclusive subdivisions that were not disclosed in their respective SALNs.

In 2005, DOF-RIPS filed two separate complaints against the sisters. Maglasang resigned during the pendency of the case.

In 2006, the Office of the Ombudsman found them guilty of dishonesty and grave misconduct. They were also dismissed from the service, perpetually barred from re-employment in government, and lost their benefits.

The DOF hired former prosecutors with extensive investigative and prosecutorial experiences to strengthen its case build-up capability.

It also tapped the help of the Office of the Ombudsman, Civil Service Commission (CSC), Land Registration Authority (LRA), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for information and documents to hasten the investigation and resolution of its cases.

The DOF urged the public to help its campaign by reporting corrupt practices and extravagant lifestyles of officials of the BOC, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and DOF employees and officials to www.perangbayan.com. – Rappler.com