Penalized for falsification and perjury by misdeclaring SALN
Marissa Rae Rollo Galang, Intelligence Officer II and Acting Chief of the Bureau of Customs-Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, was dismissed from her duties by the Office of the Ombudsman last 28 October 2014 after being found to have violated Republic Act. No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Indicted on seven (7) counts of perjury and found guilty of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct, Galang was proven to have falsified her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) to conceal ill-gotten wealth. Her assets, including real estate and personal properties, travels and expenses, were all disproportionate to the legitimate income she was earning in the government service.
Claiming to have legitimate businesses to have other sources of income supplementing her government salary, Galang’s incongruent defense did not add up to the figures representing the expenses she incurred. In one of the more notable arguments for her defense, Galang claimed to having earned income as a franchisee of Mitsukoshi products. As Mitsukoshi is a major Japanese international department store and would have issued corresponding documents to franchisees, Galang’s failure to provide any of the kind to the Office of the Ombudsman makes her alibi completely fictitious.
Declaring fictitious businesses in her SALN constitutes perjury and willful intent to conceal the truth of her wealth and high-expense lifestyle. Further, she was found to be guilty of simple dishonesty, as she was discovered to have falsified her Daily Time Record (DTR) to reflect time in the office when she was clearly on vacation in the Republic of Palau, as proved by a flight manifest presented to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Galang was meted the penalty of dismissal from the service, with accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in the government service. A petition for forfeiture will also be filed to recover Galang’s ill-gotten wealth of around P2,374,520.07.
This dismissal represents yet another mark of success the Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) program of the Department of Finance has enjoyed since 2010. The RIPS program investigates and recommends for prosecution and eventual dismissal corrupt and or erring public officials.
As of 30 September 2014, RIPS has filed cases against two hundred and twenty six (226) respondents since its inception in 2003. Of these, eighty (80) personalities were charged before the Office of the Ombudsman during the current administration, while twenty eight (28) personalities were charged before the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and five (5) personalities were referred to the concerned agency for filing of formal charge.
