Mikey on tax evasion raps: ‘Political harassment’

Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey" Arroyo labeled as “political harassment" the tax evasion cases filed against him and his wife Angela by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). In a report on GMA News’ “24 Oras," the eldest child of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the Aquino administration is behind the filing of tax evasion cases against him, describing it as Malacañang’s latest “gimmick." “Presyo ng kuryente umaakyat. Presyo ng gasolina umaakyat. Presyo ng tilapia umaakyat. Survey ng vice president umaakyat… Pero bumaba ‘yung [trust rating] ng pangulo. Kelangan ng gimmick," he said in an interview with GMA News’ Sandra Aguinaldo. (Power rates are going up. Gas prices are going up. Tilapia fish prices are going up. The vice president’s ratings in surveys are going up. But the president’s trust rating has gone down. They needed a gimmick.) Arroyo, who has continually defended his mother against critics during her presidency and after she stepped down, in turn slammed incumbent President Benigno Aquino III’s “overwhelming" enthusiasm for luxury cars. “Ang buhay namin simple lang naman [We live our life simply]. We don’t go around driving Porsche or Lexus," he said, in an obvious swipe at Aquino’s recent acquisition of a Porsche car that earned the President some public criticism.
Due process of law With the filing of tax evasion cases against him and his wife, Arroyo said his right to due process of the law was “ignored". The BIR, in a letter dated April 5, required the congressman to submit various documents to the tax collection agency. “They say, ‘I give you 10 days [to submit the documents],’ and then they filed a case against me two days after the receipt of the letter," according to Arroyo. Earlier in the day, the BIR filed with the Department of Justice tax evasion complaints against him and his wife, requiring the couple to pay P73.85 million in aggregate tax liabilities accumulated from 2004 to 2009. (See: BIR files P73.85-million tax evasion raps vs. Mikey, wife) The bureau alleged that Arroyo did not file his income tax return in 2005, 2008, and 2009 — years when he served as congressman of Pampanga’s second district. Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, “Mikey should explain why he failed to file the income tax return, instead of talking about peripheral and irrelevant issues which he has a mere facile knowledge of." Arroyo parried Malacañang’s blows, however, saying: “I’ve been dutifully paying my taxes. Everything I own is in my SALN [statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth]. If I haven’t been paying the right taxes, I could’ve easily paid the penalty." The Arroyo camp is confident that they will win the court battle. Arroyo’s counsel, Ruy Rondain, said it “doesn’t make sense for Arroyo not to file an ITR. If he’s going to evade his taxes, he shouldn’t file a SALN to begin with."—Jesse Edep/JV, GMA News