Administrative Order No. 100




MALACAÑAN PALACE MANILA BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES [ Administrative Order No. 100, July 9, 1964 ] MODIFYING ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 308, DATED AUGUST 31, 1959, CONCERNING FORMER UNDERSECRETARY OF FINANCE JOSE P. TRINIDAD This is a request for reconsideration of Administrative Order No. 308, dated August 31,1959, in the administrative case of former Undersecretary of Finance Jose P. Trinidad, recently retired as Undersecretary of General Services, by virtue of which he was meted out the penalty corresponding to the period of his preventive suspension (13 ½ months) for neglect in the performance of duty, aggravated by the fact that he was aware that the use of tax exemption privileges resulted in a decline in government revenues and that the privilege was capable of being misused to evade payment of duties and taxes. However, the former President in his decision stressed that respondent was not impelled by any corrupt or dishonest motive and that he had more than 30 years of satisfactory service. Respondent claims that the former President was partial and prejudiced against him and that there were omissions and errors in the evaluation of facts brought out in the investigation. This case arose from the alleged irregular issuance by respondent of tax exempt release certificates for 19 importations to the Great Oriental Manufacturer and Trader, owned by Robert Tan to whom tax exemption privilege was issued by the Secretary of Finance under Republic Act No. 901 for the operation of a galvanized iron plant in Lucena, Quezon, authorizing him to import tax free black iron or steel sheets as raw materials. Issuance of tax exemption release certificates governing importations of tax exempt industries in implementation of the grant of the privileged by the Secretary of Finance was the responsibility of respondent as then Undersecretary of Finance. The burden of the findings against the respondent is that he was negligent in signing the tax release certificates without going over the documents accompanying the application for tax exemptions and relying solely on the reports and recommendations of his processors, and not requiring his processors to determine the dates of the alleged transfers of shipments from the original importers or consignees to Robert Tan, etc., thus enabling the the latter to effect the release tax free of galvanized iron sheets and machinery not covered by his tax exemption certificate and not used for the industry for which he was given the tax exemption, to the damage of the government in the sum of P106,040.22 as uncollected duties and taxes thereon. As to the alleged partiality and prejudice of the then President against respondent for having supposedly displeased in his official actuations some persons close to the former, I am not inclined to give serious thought thereto, it appearing that the decision on the case was based on the findings of the investigating committee, the only difference being that whereas the committee recommended suspension for six months, the former President imposed a longer suspension equivalent to 13½ months.1aшphi1 However, a review of the record tends to sustain certain observations made by the respondent in support of his petition for reconsideration. For instance, the statement in the decision that the respondent did not even once go over the documents accompanying the applications and relied solely on the reports of his processors, which if true is really a serious omission, seems rather exaggerated and against the facts, not only because the decision itself recognized that “with one exception” respondents approval appeared to have been given as a matter of routine, but also because, as pointed out by the respondent, he disapproved some 344 other applications. This only goes to show that he disapproved a good number of those favorably recommended by the processors, with the corollary implication that he studied the applications and was not a mere rubber stamp. Moreover, respondent claimed that the issuance by him of tax exempt clearance certificates was not absolute but subject to certain conditions that must be observed and satisfied before the customs authorities should order the release of the goods tax free. In other words, examination or verification of compliance with the tax exempt privilege devolved not only on the part of the Department of Finance processors but also on that of customs examiners. Respondent also stressed that Tans applications were only an insignificant portion of the 27,000 other applications acted upon by him during the period involved, 1956 and 1957, or at the rate of about 84 applications a day; that under the regulations, action was required to be taken within 24 hours, without sacrificing thoroughness in the processing thereof; and that an amicable settlement of the duties and taxes due had been arrived at and a big portion thereof had been paid. While I am for utmost efficiency and dedication in the discharge of official duties, I believe that, in the light of the attendant facts and circumstances, the penalty imposed on the respondent was rather too severe, considering the admitted absence on respondents part of any corrupt or dishonest motive and his long years of satisfactory service. Wherefore, Administrative Order No. 308, dated August 31, 1959, is hereby modified in the sense that instead of suspension therein provided, Mr. Jose P. Trinidad shall be considered reprimanded. Done in the City of Manila, this 9th day of July, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and sixty-four. (Sgd.) DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL President of the Philippines By the President: (Sgd.) JUAN S. CANCIO Acting Assistant Executive Secretary The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation