Biyaheng Totoo: BIR officer failed to remit P1.2M in taxes from 3 poor Agusan towns —COA

For the second episode of Biyaheng Totoo, GMA News’ special six-part series on the human cost of corruption, GMA reporter Chino Gaston traveled to Agusan del Norte, one of the country’s poorest provinces. Here, two out of every 10 residents of working age are unemployed. In 2008, the Commission on Audit found that a collection officer of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) failed to remit P1.2 million-worth of taxes collected from three of the province's poorest towns — Jabonga, Tubay and Santiago. This money could have been used to fund the building of roads or to provide much-needed health, education, and livelihood services and projects for residents. Surveys conducted by the Social Weather Stations between 2000 and 2007 showed that the BIR was perceived by business managers as one of the 10 most corrupt government agencies. See Chino Gaston's photos of Agusan del Norte here: View in fullscreen.