Porsche-driving clerk faces raps

MANILA, Philippines - The anti-corruption unit of the Department of Finance (DOF) has filed administrative and criminal charges against the Porsche-riding Customs clerk who allegedly fired his gun in a traffic altercation in Pasay City last month.

In a Feb. 17 complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, the Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) charged Paulino Elevado IV with “serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service” under the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (RRACS).

RIPS also charged Elevado for allegedly violating provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officials and Employees.

Elevado, a Customs clerk, figured in a shooting incident last Jan. 21 after a traffic altercation with a 20-year-old student on board a Toyota Innova.

CCTV cameras recorded the car chase between Elevado, who was driving a Porsche sports car, and the student who asked not to be named.

Elevado has denied owning the Porsche but RIPS investigation showed that he has accumulated other properties deemed disproportionate to his legitimate source of income. 

In its complaint, RIPS also said Elevado has been maintaining properties which he failed to disclose in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

Elevado, for instance, has been maintaining two private residences in high-end residential areas in Las Piñas City, RIPS said.

In his 2003 SALN, Elevado also reported that he acquired a Volvo motor vehicle for P400,000.

However, RIPS noted discrepancies in the declared cost of the vehicle in his SALNs for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006.

In its complaint, the Finance department’s anti-corruption unit said “respondent’s gross annual income from 2001 to 2004 only ranged from P71,592 to P73,368.” 

RIPS said this was equivalent to a monthly salary of roughly P5,000 to P6,000. “It is thus inconceivable for a mere Customs clerk to afford a high-ticket personal vehicle worth P400,000 when he had not clearly established other income-generating trade at the time of the said purchase,” said RIPS executive director Romeo Tomas Jr. 

Citing the Bureau of Customs’ service record, RIPS said Elevado receives a monthly income of roughly P10,000.

“This is grossly disproportionate to the aggregate costs of his varied investments in his other personal assets, such as jewelry, and furniture and fixtures,” Tomas said.

Other violations include the non-filing of SALNs for the years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, RIPS data also showed.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Tomas said his office has turned over to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) documents related to Elevado’s properties for possible tax investigation. 

RIPS, created in 2003, conducts lifestyle and graft investigations and files the proper criminal and administrative actions against officials of the government’s revenue-generating bureaus and agencies.