BIR checking tax records of personalities in AFP fund mess

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has started looking into the tax records of the individuals linked to the corruption scandal hounding the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). At a news briefing on Thursday, BIR Commissioner Kim Hacinto-Henares said the bureau usually initiates its investigation after monitoring public inquiries. In this case, the bureau began its probe after allegations of corruption were raised during hearings conducted by the Senate blue ribbon committee and the House of Representatives justice committee. The congressional inquiries are looking into the controversial plea bargaining agreement between the government and alleged plunderer Carlos F. Garcia, a former military comptroller. But the Senate and the House panels' separate investigations have also touched on how AFP funds have allegedly been misusued by the military's top brass. "The BIR is an avid and interested reader and viewer of all investigations, so if from the investigations, there's a lead, we will do that [probe]... Everytime there's this kind of controversy, the BIR is closely [monitoring]. We investigate without anyone forcing us," said Henares. She added that the BIR has asked the Senate for transcripts and annexes of the blue ribbon committee's hearings. Henares said the scope of the BIR's probe is only limited to whether the personalities linked to the mess have declared and paid the proper amount of taxes. "You should report your income tax returns. The thing here is, for all types of income, whether legal or illegal, you should pay taxes," Henares said. She did not mention who the personalities were but former military budget officer George Rabusa accused former AFP chiefs of staff Angelo Reyes, Diomedio Villanueva, and Roy Cimatu of receiving "pabaon" or send-off money before their retirement. Amid the corruption controversy, Reyes took his own life last Tuesday. Also tagged in the mess were former comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot and his wife, Erlinda, who supposedly used military funds for her overseas trips and houses abroad. Ligot has denied the allegations. On Thursday, BIR chief Henares said those who benefited from the AFP's alleged slush fund may have been in a bind in reporting their income. "If you're engaged in illegal activity, the difficulty is if they report [ill-gotten income], how will they explain it. If they don't report it, and we catch up on them, there will be surcharges and 20-percent interest per annum," she said. "If you compute the liabilities, within two years, their tax liabilities would have doubled. Within four years, they might have to give up everything they owned. So that's the downside of not paying taxes. At the end of the day, nothing will be left," she added. – VVP, GMA News