Court orders arrest of Ligot couple for tax evasion

The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) ordered the arrest of former military comptroller Jacinto Ligot and his wife Erlinda for a tax evasion case filed against them. In a September 28 resolution released only on Friday, the CTA's Second Division said there was "probable cause" to arrest the Ligots for violating Articles 254 and 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code for attempting to evade payment of tax from 2002 to 2004. The court set the bail bond for the Ligot couple's provisional liberty at P20,000 each. Earlier, the Ligots were in hot water after a Senate hearing discovered that the couple owned multi-million-peso properties, including some in the US. The Ligots were charged with tax evasion for failing to report in their income tax return for 2003 other income amounting to: P87,918,732.36 (for Mr. Ligot) and P77,449,052.03 (for Mrs. Ligot), or a total of P165,367,784.39. The court said "a total deficiency tax for the taxable year 2003 in the amount of P153,198,911.32, exclusive of interest and penalty charges, to the damage and prejudice of the Government." "After due deliberation and careful consideration of the information and the supporting documents, this court finds the existence of probable cause for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against herein accused," the court said. The court said the state prosecutor's finding of probable cause to file tax evasion charges against the Ligots "must be accorded great weight." Moreover, it said it acknowledged that the charges against the couple were "valid on its face and there is no showing of manifest error or grave abuse of discretion and prejudice on the part of the prosecutor." The members of the CTA’s second division are Associate Justices Juanito C. Cataneda Jr., Caesar A. Casanova and Cielito N. Mindaro-Grulla. GMA News Online is still trying to obtain the reaction of the Ligots on this development. Other properties, incomes Based on the Senate inquiry, the couple also has properties in Makati City and in the US, as attested by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) records. "She [Mrs. Ligot] also purchased several properties, including the Paseo Parkview Tower II condominium unit at Salcedo Village in Makati City; a $322,181 real property at No. 1240 Cabernet Circle, Anaheim, California, USA; and a $599,500 house and lot at 7102 Stanton Avenue, Buenas Park, California," according to the BIR. Mrs. Ligot allegedly bought the properties using her maiden name, Yambao. But Mr. Ligot insisted he was not aware his wife owned properties in the US. The BIR earlier filed a tax evasion case against the Ligots for tax deficiencies amounting to P428 million for their supposed failure to pay taxes from 2001 to 2004. — LBG, GMA News