Mikey Arroyo not yet attending DOJ hearing on tax case

Ang Galing Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, who is facing a tax evasion complaint with his wife, will not show up at a Department of Justice panel hearing on Thursday. Mikey's lawyer, Ruy Rondain, said the lawmaker's camp has not yet received the subpoena from the panel led by Senior State Prosecutor Lagrimas Agaran. Last month, the Bureau of Internal Revenue filed a P73.85-million tax-evasion complaint against Mikey and his wife, Angela, for their alleged willful failure to file their income tax returns and for under-declaring their income. The alleged offenses are in violation of the National Internal Revenue Code. The bureau's scrutiny of Mikey's Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Networth (SALN) from 2002 to 2009 showed that from 2004 to 2009, the lawmaker and his wife bought millions-worth of properties, including houses, vehicles, and shares of stock. However, the BIR noted: "Despite receipt of substantial amounts of income, the Arroyo spouses repeatedly failed to file any annual income tax return (ITR) and to pay the corresponding taxes due thereon." Mikey, the eldest son of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has already denied that he and his wife were remiss of their duties to pay the proper amount of taxes. "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 have easily paid the penalty," he said. Mikey then decried what he said was the BIR's failure to accord him due process. "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," Mikey said. On April 7, Mikey noted that the BIR and the DOJ seemed to be so in a hurry the tax case against him, saying he received the notice on April 5, on the 64th birthday of his mother and two days later, the filing of the case was announced even before he could respond to the notice. In a Balitanghali interview on April 7, Mikey said, "I've nothing against the government reviewing citizens who they see are remiss in paying taxes. What I am wondering is the lack of due process...." In response, the BIR and DOJ assured the younger Arroyo of due process, with BIR commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares saying, "If the argument is that we are singling out anyone and not based on evidence, then shouldn't we have filed this case long ago? We file cases based on evidence. It's not because of any personality." — LBG/KBK, GMA News