DOJ Opinion No. 069, s. 1986

DOJ OPINION NO. 069 , s. 1986 July 8, 1986 Commissioner Bienvenido A. Tan, Jr. Bureau of Internal Revenue Quezon City Sir : This refers to your query as to whether you will violate any rules if you made use of private planes in making inspection trips of BIR offices outside of Manila. You state that some private companies, particularly banks, are willing to make their private planes available to the BIR provided that the BIR will refund the cost of gasoline and the crew's salaries; and that this arrangement will not only save time, but will cost the government less considering that hiring of government planes cost P12,000 per hour; and commercial planes, P8,000 an hour. We are not aware of any law or regulation which would render it unlawful to accept the offer of private companies to allow the BIR the use of their private planes for office trips under the conditions stated. The only legal provision that may be relevant to solicitation of favors from private parties is Section 3 (b) and (c) of Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which reads: "Sec. 3. Corrupt practices of public officers . . . . (b) Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift, present, share, percentage, or benefit, for himself or for any other person, in connection with any contract or transaction between the Government and any other party, wherein the public officer in his official capacity has to intervene under the law. (c) Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift, present or other pecuniary or material benefit, for himself of for another, from any person for whom the public officer, in any manner or capacity has secured or obtained, or will secure or obtain, any Government permit or license, in consideration for the help given or to be given, without prejudice to Section thirteen of this Act." cdlex xxx xxx xxx But this Office has opined in connection with the above provision that as long as the official soliciting the benefit does so without the slightest suggestion that the favor bears some relationship to a contract or transaction which he has to pass upon officially, or would be regarded as a sort of consideration for the assistance he has rendered or will render in any way whatsoever in securing a government permit or license for the interested party, he may not be held criminally liable for a violation of the said provisions (Ops. Nos. 188 and 211, s. 1960). However, since all private banks necessarily transact business with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, you would be well advised to clear the policy implications of this proposed arrangement with the Minister of Finance, who exercises supervision over your office. You are likewise advised to consult with the Commission on Audit, as to compatibility of these arrangements with existing auditing rules and regulations. Very truly yours, (SGD.) NEPTALI A. GONZALES Minister of Justice