Charges before the Office of the Ombudsman were filed against Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and two other persons about the allegation that he gave a 100 percent tax discount to a telco company.
The complainant is named Ethelmart Austria Cruz.
In an affidavit complaint, 17 pages in all, received by the Office of the Ombudsman on August 7, 2024, Cruz charged the mayor with violation of Republic Act No. 3019 Section 3, paragraph e; violation of Republic No. 6713 Section 4, paragraphs a and b; grave misconduct; gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service; and dishonesty.
Also charged were Melanie De Mesa, head of the Business Permit and Licensing Department, and Jeronimo Manzanero, city administrator.
In Cruz’s complaint, since 2018, Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. declares for tax purposes, that they only occupy office space of 5 square meters, and have four employees.
Further, it is stated that per inspection reports dated 18 July 2022 and 19 September 2022, it clearly shows that Converge does not declare the actual size of their office and the number of their employees since the actual number of their employees is 1,901 and it occupies four floors with an area of 9037.46 square meters of office space.
There was also issued a tax order of payment on 18 October 2022, where the company was assessed for a total amount of P3,670,340.11 with a total surcharge of P447,106.77 and total interest amounting to P979,570.27, representing deficiencies and delinquencies in the payment of fees and licenses.
In his complaint, Cruz alleged the circumstances surrounding the Office of the Mayor’s approval of the tax discount in favor of the private company “constitutes the giving of unwarranted benefits and is a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”
For his part, Sotto shrugged off the complaint filed against him, saying “Anyone can file a complaint, it doesn’t mean anything.
