BIR files admin case vs. 2 employees over alleged direct bribery, LOA misuse

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed administrative complaints for alleged direct bribery and corruption against two of its employees who were arrested in an entrapment operation in Taguig City.

At the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged misuse of letters of authority (LOA), BIR Commissioner Charlie Mendoza on Tuesday said he immediately ordered the preventive suspension of Revenue Officer Elisha Dimayacyac and Group Supervisor Grace Lapu-os, and launched a formal investigation into the incident.

"An administrative case was filed against them. It is undergoing investigation. They were preventively suspended for 90 days. Ongoing ang formal investigation at hearing sa kaso nila," Mendoza told the panel.

Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested Dimayacyac and Lapu-Os in an operation in Taguig City in October after Hitch Park Solutions Inc. filed a complaint against them.

An initial investigation found the complainant received an LOA from BIR Revenue District Office 044, authorizing the BIR employees to examine the company's books of account and other internal revenue taxes records for 2024.

Hitch Park Solutions Inc. then sought the assistance of their company accountant during the incident and after a discussion with the Dimayacyac and Lapu-Os, the company yielded tax assessments of P36 million.

The tax assessment later went down to P6 million but the BIR employees allegedly offered to "fix" and further reduce their tax obligations to only P800,000, with the premise that only P200,000 will be covered in the receipt. The remaining P600,000 would be placed in a separate envelope and delivered to the BIR office in Taguig on September 29.

The BIR employees were nabbed after they were caught receiving the cash envelope during the agreed date. They were immediately brought to Taguig City's Prosecutor's Office for inquest proceedings for alleged violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 0319 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. — BM, GMA Integrated News