DOF chief orders probe of tax scam

Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong ordered yesterday the full investigation of the tax credit scam involving One Stop Shop Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center granting tax credits to importers.

Amatong also ordered all records and evidence stemming from the latest tax anomaly be turned over to Office of the Ombudsman for safekeeping. "I want to get to the bottom of this," Amatong said. "It was me who ordered that the records be locked up for safekeeping."

Amatong said former finance official Ernesto Hiansen is not yet off the hook even if he was being credited for exposing the tax credit anomaly. Hiansen earlier disclosed a new wave of tax scams involving the two agencies giving tax credits to importers.

Hiansen reported fraudulent transactions in the two agencies which were later aborted. He said it could have cost the government about P200 million in revenues if the transactions went through.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), however, said Hiansen was negligent in signing fake tax credit certificates (TCCs). Amatong echoed the claims made by the NBI and said Hiansen should be partly responsible for the scam.

There are "checks and balances" in the system which enabled the DOF to detect the anomaly, she said.

"That’s precisely how we are able to detect these things," Amatong said. "We have to give it to Hiansen because he stepped forward and reported it."

When asked whether the filing of the charges against Hiansen would discourage other whistle-blowers, Amatong admitted it is a risk that they have to contend with.

"But if it is your function to report such irregularities, you have to do it," Amatong said.

"If you are a whistle-blower who is just reporting wrong-doing, then you should have nothing to be afraid of," she said.

Amatong, however, refused to comment on the fake TCCs signed by Hiansen but DOF sources said the tax center uses machines that could detect fake documents precisely to prevent spurious tax claims.

The government has already created the so-called Task Force 156 to investigate and file charges against the perpetrators of the tax scam.

But some key personnel of the task force are reportedly moving out, citing "irreconcilable differences with superiors" as among their reasons for leaving.