Ex-BIR exec admits ‘poor judgment’ in putting high value on Villar lot

A former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) official on Tuesday admitted using “poor judgment" in giving the highest zonal value to a property owned by Senator Manuel Villar, who is accused of allegedly using his position to profit from the C-5 road extension project. Testifying before the Senate committee of the whole that is investigating the ethics complaint against Villar, Carmelita Bacod, former revenue district officer in Parañaque, admitted certifying that Villar’s property has a zonal value of P30,000 per square meter when, according to the complainant, it should only be valued at P3,000 per square meter. Bacod said she did it to increase their revenue collection. “I have already cited my reason, which is to increase our collection. So If I made some poor judgment, I’m very sorry." The property in question was a 1,600-square meter lot bought by Villar’s Adelfa Properties Inc. from Masaito Corporation. It was among the properties later sold to the government to pave the way for the construction of the C-5 road in Parañaque. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile castigated Bacod for allegedly making a decision that was more favorable to the owner of the property than to the government. “I’m sure you are an accountant or lawyer, that is why you are entrusted with the collection of taxes. But I’m quite surprised that you are not taught how to be fair and equitable in collecting taxes for the government," Enrile said. “I would imagine that if I were in your place I will be dispassionate about comparable zonal values around. Why did you select the highest? Are you not being arbitrary to the owner? Yet in this particular case it was sold to the government, the government that you want to serve and protect. You injured the interest of the government instead," he added. Bacod said she did not know the property, located along Dr. Antonio Arcadio Santos Avenue, would be eventually sold to the government. She also insisted that she followed the law on zonal valuation, citing Department Order 16-98. She said the order stated that if there is no zonal value prescribed on a particular street, which means it has no commercial classification, the revenue officer can use the classification of another street with similar condition within the same village. In the case of Villar property, she said she used the classification for properties in Ninoy Aquino Avenue, which was two kilometers away from the lot. "Highly commercialized area" But according to the complainant’s lawyer, Ernesto Francisco, Ninoy Aquino Avenue is a “highly commercialized area" that houses a number of big business establishments such as McDonalds and Duty Free shops. Francisco said the department order states that the properties should have similar conditions. He also informed the Senate that Masaito’s property was a vacant lot when the certification was issued. Bacod admitted that she did not check if the condition of properties in Ninoy Aquino Avenue were similar with the properties in Dr Antonio Arcadio Santos Avenue. “The regulations do not require us to conduct an ocular inspection to determine the condition in that area. If the first requirement has been met, then we can already apply, get the zonal value for the same classification already existing in another street in that barangay," she said. Francisco said the Masaito and Villar’s land should have been classified as general purpose or “raw land, underdeveloped area which has potential for development into residential, commercial, industrial, institutional." Under the department order, it has a value of P3,000 per square meter. The zonal value P30,000 is for properties which are fully developed, he said. “You use the 30,000 when it is already fully developed but this property is raw land, in fact undeveloped. It was a general purpose property. It could be used for residential, commercial, it can be used for some other things," Enrile noted. Asked why she issued the certification, Bacod said she can no longer remember why and who requested for that certification. This got the ire of Enrile. “In other words… you issued this certification arbitrarily, off your head, without any basis at all. You said P30,000 because I am the revenue district officer, I want to raise money for the government, ergo you have pay at P30,000 valuation. That is not the way government operates." The certifications issued by Bacod were the documents used by Villar’s companies, Adelfa and Golden Haven, to assess the value of their properties that were affected by the C-5 road project. - GMANews.TV