THE Ombudsman yesterday ordered plunder, estafa and other criminal charges filed against 23 Finance Department officials for illegally issuing tax credits worth P73.76 million to seven individuals—who would also be similarly charged—from 1994 to 1996.

Merceditas Gutierrez ordered the charges filed before the anti-graft court against former Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Belicena, then administrator of the department’s Tax Center; Uldarico Andutan Jr., former deputy executive director of the Tax Center; Asuncion Magdaet, a former reviewer in the Tax Center; and Rowena Malonzo, former tax specialist at the Tax Center.

She ordered the same charges filed against spouses and Filstar Textile Industrial Corp. owners Faustino and Gloria Chingkoe, Filstar corporate secretary Grace Chingkoe, and Filstar representative Catalina Aranas Bautista.

Eight evaluators at the Tax Center are also to be charged along with Pacifico Cruz, treasury manager of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.; Celso Legarda, vice president and general manager of Petron Corp.; and Leonardo Tanseco, vice president of Duracon Mobile Power Corp.

The Ombudsman said the Finance officials issued tax credits to Filstar, Shell, Petron and Duracon when they were not entitled to them.

A tax credit is granted only to enterprises registered with the Board of Investments, and it is a refund of the tax and duties paid by the importer on raw materials to be used to make products for export. Macon Ramos Araneta