By Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said prosecutors have secured the conviction of a former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) employee in Zamboanga City for multiple counts of money laundering, following complaints filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council Secretariat (AMLCS).
Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Mary Jane Sytat, along with AMLC legal officers lawyers Charlemagne Tambo and Claudine Joy Gonzales handled the cases for direct bribery, robbery with intimidation, and violation of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act filed before the Prosecutor’s Office in Zamboanga City.
The Zamboanga City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 convicted BIR Revenue Officer IV Flora Sarau Albao of Revenue District No. 93A of BIR Zamboanga City, for violations of Sections 4(a) and 4(b) of RA 9160 (Anti-Money Laundering Act).
Albao was apprehended in an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in 2022 for extorting PHP500,000 from a certain Ms. Ledesma.
The NBI and AMLC later found Albao maintained 36 bank accounts across four banks.
As a Revenue Officer IV with an equivalent pay of Salary Grade 19, Albao’s monthly income was PHP49,835, with an annual income equivalent to PHP598,020, yet she deposited an average of PHP93,000 from May to August 2022, which is more than double her salary during that period.
“Public office demands a higher standard of accountability and integrity. Those entrusted with the privilege to serve must not only perform with excellence but also uphold the highest degree of candor in all their dealings —this is the benchmark that our Bagong Pilipinas government will never compromise,” Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said.
The RTC Branch 12 sentenced Albao to seven to 13 years of imprisonment for the first six money laundering cases with a PHP3-million fine for each count, and four to six years of imprisonment for the remaining six money laundering cases with a PHP1.5-million fine for each count, to be served successively. (PNA)
