Court enters not guilty plea for Mikey, wife on tax evasion raps

Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and his wife Angela were arraigned Thursday morning before a Quezon City court on tax evasion charges.

 

The couple did not enter any plea, prompting the court to enter a not-guilty plea for them, radio dzBB's Allan Gatus reported.

 

Both arrived early for their arraignment before Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 100 Judge Marie Christine Jacob.

 

Jacob also set the preliminary conference on the case in the afternoon of May 21, and the pre-trial conference in the morning of June 7.

 

The case against the couple stemmed from charges lodged by the Department of Justice and Bureau of Internal Revenue.

 

Rep. Arroyo faces three counts of tax evasion while Angela faces seven counts, the report said.

 

The BIR had claimed Rep. Arroyo failed to file income tax returns for 2005, 2008, and 2009 while his wife did not file her ITRs from 2003 to 2009. — RSJ, GMA News