BusinessWorld | Zero tax convictions during Henares BIR term

See - BusinessWorld | Zero tax convictions during Henares BIR term

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Some 492 tax-evasion complaints were filed under its Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program, but the number of cases that reached the courts did not hit triple digits.

All five cases that were actually completed by the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) and one by the Supreme Court ended in defeat for the BIR.

According to a summary prepared by the BIR, four out of five criminal complaints filed under the leadership of Commissioner Henares remained at the prosecutorial level with the Department of Justice (DoJ).

Some 97 cases were either filed only recently or have yet to be assigned to a prosecutor. Meanwhile, preliminary investigation is ongoing for 56 cases, including the P36.14-million one against social commerce company Ensogo, Inc., filed in February 2015.

Preliminary investigation has been terminated for 219 cases submitted for resolution by the prosecutors. But with the prosecutors yet to issue their findings, the issue of sufficient probable case to bring them to court remains hanging.

Among the cases to be resolved is the P73.34-million tax evasion complaint filed in January 2015 against Antonio L. Tiu, the chief executive officer of publicly-listed Greenergy Holdings, Inc., who was accused by the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee of acting as a front for outgoing Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay’s allegedly ill-gotten property acquisition in Batangas.

Another pending case is the P101.7-million complaint filed in September 2015 against JCLN Global Properties Development Corp., the realty firm run by James Christopher L. Napoles and Jo Christine L. Napoles, children of pork barrel scam defendant Janet Lim-Napoles.

Others up for resolution are: the P88.54-million case of Camp John Hay Leisure, Inc., filed in February 2015, the P118.32-million complaint against Warner Music Philippines in January 2014, the P4.45-million case against actor Zoren G. Legaspi in May 2014, and the cases filed against 12 employees of the Asian Development Bank in September 2014.

State prosecutors have issued resolutions on four dozen cases, but they have not been elevated to the courts as they are either being appealed at prosecutor level or questioned in petitions for review filed with the Secretary of Justice.

Fourteen of the pending cases were resolved in the BIR’s favor, including the P14.96-million and P39.03-million cases against Mr. Tiu’s brother James L. Tiu and sister-in-law Ann Lorraine B. Tan, both leading contributors to Mr. Binay’s vice-presidential campaign.

On the other hand, 38 of the BIR’s complaints were dismissed by the DoJ for lack of probable cause or insuffiency of evidence.

Among these were the cases filed against former Philcomsat Holdings Corp. Chairman Benito Ramon V. Araneta (P87.7 million), and former officials Philip G. Brodett (P526.61 million) and Luis K. Lokin, Jr. (12.4 million). Also dismissed were the P1.82-million case against Korean television host Ryan Bang, and a P983,658.07 case against Brazilian model Daiana Menezes.

Only 81 of the tax evasion cases under RATE actually left the DoJ and made it to the courts.

Proceedings for 54, or more than half, of these cases are ongoing with the CTA, which has the jurisdiction over criminal cases of tax evasion. 

Among these pending CTA cases are, listed in order of filing, those of: former military comptroller Jacinto C. Ligot and wife Erlinda (P290.2 million and P137.8 million); former Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Juan Miguel M. Arroyo (P73.85 million); former Social Security System President Romulo L. Neri (P13.6 million); Izumo Contractors, Inc., owned by Cedric Lee (P76.22 million); comic book writer and movie producer Carlo J. Caparas (P540.2 million); and Janet Lim-Napoles, her husband Jaime L. Napoles, and daughter Jeane Christine L. Napoles (P44.71 million, P16.47 million, and P17.89 million, respectively).

The P120.5-million tax evasion case of impeached Chief Justice Renato C. Corona was included in the count, even after the dismissal of the case in May following his death in late April.

Twenty criminal cases are also ongoing at various Regional Trial Courts, while none is pending with the Supreme Court.

One case is pending with the Court of Appeals (CA), concerning former Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima’s dismissal of the BIR’s complaint against an heir of Oscar Ongsiako’s estate. The CA in August 2015 denied the petition as the BIR was found to have sought the wrong remedy.

Finally, all five cases completed by the CTA were dismissed.

The one case that was elevated to the Supreme Court ended in an acquittal for businessman Macario Lim Gaw, whose P6.52-billion tax evasion case was considered by the DoJ as among its top 20 major cases. 

The 492 tax evasion complaints involved a total of P84.457 billion in alleged tax liabilities.

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