Pacquiao on BIR case: ‘Plain, simple harassment’

By ANDREO CALONZO, GMA News

Published March 26, 2012 12:25pm

(Updated 1:43 p.m.) World boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao on Monday dismissed as “plain and simple harassment” the case filed against him by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). At a press conference, Pacquiao said the BIR filed the case against him in “bad faith” to single him out and to besmirch his reputation. “Itinataya ko po ang aking buhay sa loob ng ring… but in just one instance, the BIR has tarnished my name by filing this case against me,” he said. Pacquiao added that the BIR’s move was not in line with the Aquino administration’s platform of governance. “Higit bang mas mahalaga sa kanila ang buwis kaysa sa karapatang pantao? Hindi po yata ito matuwid na daan,” he said. Later in his press conference, Pacquiao said he wants President Benigno Aquino III to sack BIR Region 12 director Rozil Lozares. “Nanawagan ako kay President Noy, sana ‘yung ibang opisyal, especially ‘yung regional director ay tanggalin na. Hindi niya alam ginagawa niya. Binabaluktot niya ang tamang daan,” he said. Not related to RH bill Also in his press conference, Pacquiao clarified that he thinks the case has nothing to do with his opposition to the administration-backed Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

Earlier this month, the BIR filed a case against Pacquiao for alleged violation of Section 266 of the National Internal Revenue Code, or the provision on “failure to obey summons.”

The case was filed after Pacquiao supposedly failed to submit documents such as tax records and contract endorsements the BIR had asked him to produce last month. Not received personally Pacquiao said he cannot be charged with failure to obey summons because he did not personally receive the subpoena for the documents. “The subpoena was not served to me personally, but to a person whose identity is not known to me,” he said. Abraham Espejo, one of Pacquiao’s lawyers, later identified the “unknown” person who received his client’s subpoena as a certain Jocelyn Nebria. Espejo added that the subpoena was also sent to an “unknown” place in General Santos City, despite the fact that Pacquiao lives in Sarangani and holds office at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City. “Why send it to an unknown place and person? What is the purpose? Hindi po ito due process. Railroaded po ito,” he said. The lawyer said that the BIR’s actions are in violation of the agency’s own Memorandum Circular 88-2010, which requires summons to be issued personally to a taxpayer. Justice Artemio Tuquero, another counsel for Pacquiao, meanwhile, said that the BIR also violated Pacquiao’s right to self-incrimination by requiring documents from his client. “It is the duty of the BIR to gather evidence against a taxpayer. It is not the duty of the taxpayer to submit something that might be used against him,” he said. ‘Counterpunch’ Espejo said that as a “counterpunch” to the BIR’s actions, their camp is considering the filing of charges against the agency’s officials for causing “undue injury” to Pacquiao. “If somebody slaps you, you can’t just shake hands with them. Iyon ang nagyari rito. Congressman Pacquiao was just slapped with the charges. Kailangan namin mag-counterpunch,” he said. Tuquero, meanwhile, said that their camp might also question the BIR’s authority to issue summons against taxpayers. Pacquiao, for his part, said he will “fight the case until the end,” but will not let these issues get in the way of his upcoming fight in June against American boxer Timothy Bradley. “I cannot train hard with heavy baggage. After this I will leave this matter to my lawyers,” he said. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News

Tags: mannypacquiao