Tax court issues gag order on Pacquiao, BIR chief Henares

Shut up already, the Court of Tax Appeals on Thursday has ordered Manny Pacquiao, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares and their counsels.

The gag order was issued during a 9 a.m. hearing Thursday in Quezon City, with Presiding Justice Roman G. del Rosario resetting the hearing for Jan. 16, 2014 when the BIR will present its counter-evidence on the tax case. Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee are questioning the BIR's calculation of his purported P2.2-billion tax liability.

 

According to law.com, a gag order prohibits “... the attorneys and the parties to a pending lawsuit or criminal prosecution from talking to the media or the public about the case. The supposed intent is to prevent prejudice due to pre-trial publicity which would influence potential jurors. A gag order has the secondary purpose of preventing the lawyers from trying the case in the press and on television, and thus creating a public mood (which could get ugly) in favor of one party or the other.”

 

Guzman said the court ordered "no declarations from either parties and their counsels to the media" while the hearing on Pacquiao's urgent plea to lift the freeze order on his bank accounts is ongoing and the BIR tries to settle the issue amicably.

 

"The copy of the gag order is still with the judges for signing and may come out today or tomorrow," she added.

Pacquiao's tax troubles have become a feast for the media shortly after coming home from his comeback victory against Brandon Rios in Macau last November 24.

The champ launched the first salvo last week when he complained of being politically persecuted by the BIR after his bank accounts were frozen.

Henares responded tit for tat, arguing that it was a simple case of tax collection from a tax payer who had not paid his taxes. The BIR had issued a warrant of garnishment that enables the government to claim Pacquiao's assets to cover his tax liabilities, said to amount to P2.2 billion, including penalties and sur charges.

 

On August 1, Pacquiao asked the CTA to review the tax deficiency claimed by the BIR against him and his wife, Jinkee.

 

The spouses then filed on Oct. 18 an urgent plea to lift the warrant issued by the BIR and ask the CTA to stop the bureau from further issuing any warrant against them.

Fresh from his dramatic triumph over Rios, Pacquiao chose the moment of glory to hold a press conference to appeal for public sympathy in his battle against the tax man.

 

The BIR was scheduled to present its counter evidence against Pacquiao's motion to lift the warrant of garnishment on Thursday. The CTA has already had two hearings on the case – on Oct. 22 and on Nov. 5.

 

But the court ordered the hearing reset to January 16, 2014, when the fate of Pacquiao's billions may be decided. – VS/HS, GMA News