‘Spies’ planted in gov’t agencies to go after grafters

Gone are the days of deep penetration agents or DPAs. Instead, there are now "spies" deployed and "embedded" in various government agencies to track down corrupt officials who prey on the public.

Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo disclosed late Tuesday that they are planning to assign graft investigators to agencies, disguise themselves as "clerks or secretaries" and monitor the anomalous transactions of erring public servants.

Among the priority targets of the plan are the graft-ridden Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs, especially now that the government wants to generate much-needed funds to reduce the ballooning budget deficit.

"The government needs money at this point, and we will monitor which offices have been performing below par," Marcelo told journalists, as he made known his intentions to use "embedded investigators" who will help their office hasten the investigation process.

"If we can reduce graft and improve the collections, then we’ll be able to help the government," he explained. Apart from the embedding scheme, the Ombudsman also revealed the plan to put suspected BIR and Customs officials on "24-hour surveillance."

"There will be three teams taking shifts to watch over them. And this time, this will no longer be composed of veteran law enforcers but our very own people. In a bungled case, for instance, a rookie wants to do better next time," he said, unlike others "who no longer have a conscience."

And to boost further the government’s drive against corruption and cut bureaucratic red tape, Marcelo said they are in the process of fine-tuning the mechanics of the new program to be launched in October — reporting corruption through text messages.

This will be compensated by the putting up of a hotline, complete with support staff, a solid database, website and expansion of the computerization, which they will be sourcing from the $700,000 grant forthcoming from the World Bank.

"Right now we are undermanned, but give us three to five years and we’ll be able to improve the Ombudsman a lot," he said, adding the 37 prosecutors will increase to 500 before he retires in 2009. Their present logistics, he said, can be likened to using a slingshot to slay a lion.

He also called on the business community, which had expressed desire to contribute a percentage of income to fight corruption, to donate old cars for surveillance jobs.

Marcelo said he wants the Ombudsman patterned after the renowned International Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong, which has been very effective in checking the entire bureaucracy.

And to boost further the morale of the incumbent prosecutors, the Ombudsman said he has "promoted almost all of them" so the lower level ranks will be vacated and filled up by the new ones, like fresh graduates and new lawyers.

"We have also recommended scholarships for our prosecutors and gave them the chance to travel abroad. Now we are recruiting graduates of a four-year course to be our investigators who will have a P12,000 monthly salary as entry level," Marcelo said.

Law graduates who have taken the Bar and are awaiting the results have P18,000 monthly plus allowances, while those who have passed the exams will be getting anywhere from P20,000 to P26,000 a month, rates competitive with the private sector.

Meanwhile, Malacañang has assured the people there will be no letup in the administration’s campaign against tax cheats and their cohorts in government.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement that "allegations of corruption and under-the-table dealing will be thoroughly investigated, exposed and prosecuted."

Bunye’s statement came after opposition Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile gave a privilege speech lambasting the government prosecutors who allegedly lost the cases against big-time tax cheats due to mishandling of the cases.

Enrile said that the government has lost an estimated P6 billion in taxes from large corporations using fake tax credit certificates over the period 1993 to 1998.

He cited Petron and Shell as well as businessman Faustino Chingkoe who owns several textile companies as some of the more prominent cases involving the fake TCCs.

The cases of Chingkoe’s companies alone reportedly constitute half of the P5 billion to P6 billion the government lost due to tax scams.

Enrile called for the removal of Finance Undersecretary Inocencio Ferrer Jr., head of the presidential task force assigned to coordinate all efforts to prosecute the culprits and recover lost revenue from both the original TCC holders and transferees.

Enrile, chairman of the ways and means committee in 1998 when the Senate investigated the scam, said the government is mishandling the cases.

"She (President Arroyo) wants us to impose new taxes but under this condition, I tell you, no tax measure will pass this chamber. I will oppose all of these tax proposals," he said.

Bunye said the administration will go after the tax evaders and whoever else is involved within the bureaucracy.

"The administration looks forward to team up with Congress in this campaign with the end in view of exposing culprits and plugging loopholes in the law," he said. — With Marvin Sy