Ombudsman orders suspension of acting Parañaque treasurer

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the preventive suspension, without pay, of the acting city treasurer of Parañaque for dishonesty in deliberately failing to disclose his supposed properties in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN).

According to Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, a judicious examination of the complaint and supporting evidence pointed to the dishonesty of Parañaque City Treasurer Liberato Carabeo.

In his SALN for 2003, Carabeo declared ownership of a Mitsubishi GSR, a Honda City and a Chevrolet Cassia. In his 2004 SALN, Carabeo declared having owned only a Mitsubishi GSR.

However, information from the Land Transportation Office showed that as of July 7, 2004, Carabeo owns a model 2000 Ford F-150 (WMD-126), a 1998 Mazda Familia Sedan (WCL-191), a 2001 Nissan Sentra (WSG-869) and a 2000 Honda CRV (CYN-808) in addition to the three vehicles he had declared in his 2003 SALN.

Records from the Tagaytay City Assessor showed that Carabeo and his wife bought a 1,000 square-meter residential lot in Tagaytay City on July 16, 2001. The Ombudsman, however, said the property was not disclosed in Carabeo’s 2003 and 2004 SALN.

"Thus, the administrative charge for dishonesty against Carabeo, if proven, would warrant his removal from the government service," the Office of the Ombudsman said.

Carabeo was ordered to be immediately suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman for a period not to exceed six months.

"Being the officer-in-charge of the Parañaque City Treasurer’s Office, Carabeo’s stay in the said office may prejudice the outcome of this case filed against him, he being the head of that particular office, albeit in an OIC capacity," the Office of the Ombudsman added.

According to the Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) of the Department of Finance, as officer-in-charge of the Parañaque City Treasurer’s Office, Carabeo only has an annual gross salary of P291,036.

The Office of the Ombudsman added that even with the additional income derived from his declared investments and his wife’s business, Carabeo cannot justify his acquired wealth consisting of two lots in Biñan, Laguna and a townhouse unit in Cavite bought in 1998 for P668,365 and other properties in Biñan and in Tagaytay City bought in 1999, 2001 and 2003 for a total of P1.2 million and shares worth P640,000 at the Ayala-Alabang’s Palm Country Club.

The Ombudsman also noted that Carabeo had 15 unauthorized travels abroad from 1996 to 2004, based on travel records from the Bureau of Immigration.

"This would indicate that he has financial resources which could not legally be justified relying solely on his declared income. All these findings established that the evidence of guilt against Carabeo is strong," the Office of the Ombudsman said.