Garcia wants P235-M tax case dismissed for lack of probable cause

Former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia on Thursday asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss the P235-million tax evasion case filed against him by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) last March. In a 46-page counter-affidavit, Garcia denied having any knowledge of his alleged attempt to evade his tax duties and failure to declare his earnings in 2004 amounting P273 million. "It is therefore respectfully submitted that... no probable cause exists for the charges of tax evasion pertaining to the willful attempt to evade or defeat tax and willful failure to file 2004 income tax return. The complaint shall be dismissed for lack of merit," he said in his counter-affidavit Garcia and his lawyers, however, declined to give further comments on the tax evasion case after filing the document before the DOJ. Garcia and his wife, Clarita, were slapped with tax evasion raps by the BIR for supposedly failing to pay and declare proper amount of taxes in 2004, which they allegedly used "to buy properties and make deposits in several bank accounts and financial instruments." The bureau's investigation also showed that in 2004, the couple's son, Ian Carl, was able to purchase a property in Iloilo province for P459 million despite the couple’s lack of visible means of income. Prejudicial question Assistant State Prosecutor Zelica Longcob, who heads the panel conducting preliminary investigation on BIR’s complaint against the former military comptroller, said Garcia’s camp also raised a "prejudicial question" during the hearing of the case. “Baka raw makaapekto sa isa pang kaso na kinakaharap ng respondent," she told reporters after the hearing. Longcob did not identify, however, what case Garcia’s camp was referring to, saying she has not fully read the contents of the counter-affidavit. Garcia is also facing a P303-million plunder complaint at the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan, but was allowed to plead guilty to two lesser offenses and to post a P60,000 bail for his temporary freedom after entering into a plea bargain deal with the Office of the Ombudsman. The Sandiganbayan has yet to approve the plea bargain deal. — with a report by Sophia Dedace/LBG/RSJ, GMA News