(Bureau of Customs logo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – A Bureau of Customs (BOC) intelligence officer has been dismissed from her duties by the Office of the Ombudsman over unexplained wealth.
The BOC said Marissa Rae Rollo Galang, Intelligence Officer II and acting chief of the BOC-Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, was proven to have falsified her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) to conceal ill-gotten wealth.
Galang was dismissed on October 28 for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act as well as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
She was indicted on seven counts of perjury and found guilty of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct after investigation showed that her assets, including real estate and personal properties, travels and expenses, did not add up with the income she was earning as a government official.
The BOC said that Galang attributed her extra earnings to her sideline as a franchisee of Mitsukoshi products, but she failed to present documents to prove her claim. Mitsukoshi is a major Japanese international department store.
Galang was also found guilty of simple dishonesty, as she was found to have falsified her Daily Time Record (DTR) when she was on vacation in the Republic of Palau, as proved by a flight manifest presented to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Aside from being dismissed from service, Galang also faced 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 the ill-gotten wealth amounting to P2.37 million.(MNS)