THE Court of Tax Appeals on Monday deferred the arraignment of a lawyer of one of the principal suspects in the Maguindanao massacre case over the failure of the prosecution to show up during a hearing on his P27-million tax case.
The tax court issued a show-case order directing the lawyer to explain its absence.
The arraignment of the accused—Arnel Manaloto, lawyer of Andal Ampatuan Jr.—was reset to Nov. 23.
Manaloto’s first arraignment was set last Sept. 9, but was cancelled due to his petition for review pending before the Department of Justice.
In August 2013, in an 11-page resolution, the justice department found probable cause to indict Manaloto for violation of the National Internal Revenue Code.
In 2012, the Bureau of Internal Revenue filed a tax complaint against the lawyer, accusing him of evading payment of taxes worth P27.56 million by underdeclaring his income in 2011.
“The evidence submitted by the BIR tends to establish that the entries in the ITR [income tax return] and financial statements of respondent Manaloto for taxable year 2011 are manipulated to make it appear that his taxable income is only P1,495,200 when the true income is P37,967,266.26,” State Prosecutor General Claro Arellano’s resolution read.
Manaloto allegedly declared a total income of only P1.495 million in 2011 yet he bought eight real estate properties on the same year in Davao City for which he paid P20 million according to the deed of absolute sale, the government said.
