Jeane Napoles' lawyer: US properties hers in name only for citizenship application purpose

Published March 25, 2015 10:02pm

Jeane Napoles, the youngest daughter of the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, said on Wednesday, through her lawyer, that the real properties in the United States that are linked to her were registered in her name because she was applying for US citizenship.

"Pinangalan namin sa kanya iyan kasi at that time she was applying for a US citizenship. Alam n'yo naman kung mag-apply ka ng citizenship kailangan mo ipakita na meron kang mga holdings, may properties ka," the younger Napoles' legal counsel Atty. Stephen David claimed.

Jeane Napoles' lawyer also said that since his client does not own any of the properties mentioned, she does not owe the Philippine government P17.88 million in tax liabilities in 2011 and 2012 since she had no income during that time.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue does not believe her. The BIR got a certification the agency from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that Jeane Napoles really owns a residential condominium unit that costs $1.2 million or around P55 million.

BIR chief Kim Henares said Napoles may face bigger legal problems if she does not really own those properties.

"Eh 'di nagsinungaling pa siya sa Amerika. Eh di mas may malaki siyang problema na sinabi niya sa Amerika ito ay akin, ayun pala hindi sa kanya eh di perjury 'yan sa United States," she said.

Jeane Napoles has posted a P50,000 bail bond for the tax evasion case she is facing. — Trisha Macas/ELR, GMA News

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