THE OFFICE of the Ombudsman has directed a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax officer to pay a fine for failing to declare in his personal data sheet that he has a child as well for traveling overseas five times between June 1996 and March 2001 without authorization. 

The BIR officer was ordered to pay six months’ worth of salary, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a press release Monday.

The DoF said the tax officer was held liable for “less serious dishonesty” instead of the falsification of an official document because there was not enough evidence that he intentionally omitted the name of his child.

The Department of Finance’s revenue integrity protections service had filed a complaint against the tax officer in 2018 due to alleged false declarations and omissions in his statements of assets liabilities and net worth (SALN) and personal data sheets. He also allegedly failed to file his 2006 and 2007 SALNs.

According to the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision received by the DoF in December, the tax officer could not be held liable for not filing SALNs because there is no proof that the agency’s head issued a show cause order for submission of the documents.

“This case should serve as a stern reminder for all employees of the DoF and its attached agencies to always be truthful in accomplishing their personal data sheet and other official documents, and to strictly comply with civil service rules,” DoF Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Bayani H. Agabin said. — Jenina P. Ibañez 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR