Palace: Mikey incriminating self

MANILA, Philippines -  Malacañang maintained yesterday that it was not vilifying Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, saying his own conflicting statements about his property in the United States gave him away.

“When that (story) came out, he said he did not know anything about that house. Now that it was sold, Representative Arroyo confessed that he has shares in the company that owns the house,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

Valte added the Palace had nothing to do with VERA Files, which came out with the story about the house.

“That’s an independent outfit. We don’t see how that connection was made because VERA Files is an independent outfit that has nothing to do with the government,” Valte said.

Valte also said the Bureau of Internal Revenue was not prejudging the case and that BIR Commissioner Kim Henares only talked about a possible jail term for Arroyo because she was asked about it.

Valte said Arroyo would just have to face the charges against him and show whether he paid the correct taxes.

Arroyo claimed the sale of a house in the US reportedly owned by a firm he had a stake in was aboveboard.

Arroyo was referring to a report by VERA Files that a five-bedroom house in Foster City in California was sold for $1.125 million (about P48.5 million) by Beachway LLC, a firm in which he had previously admitted to having a minority stake.

Malacañang and revenue officials said the sale of the US property would not affect the tax evasion case filed by the BIR against the eldest son of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The property, according to Henares, is among the evidence in the P73.8-million tax evasion case against Arroyo and his wife Angela.

Issue is tax evasion, period

In Pangasinan, President Aquino said Arroyo was only clouding the issue with his claim of being a victim of political vendetta.

“Let me repeat. Many things can be said about this issue, but the real issue is: Did he pay income tax or not? To prove that he has filed, all he has to do is show his income tax return that was accepted by the government,” the President said in Filipino. “We are not singling them out.”

The President was in Pangasinan for the inauguration of the Agno River basin flood detection facility.

He explained that 36 or so other cases have been filed with the Department of Justice by the Finance department and the Bureau of Customs.

He said what the Arroyo couple had to explain was the staggering rise in their income in the past years as well as the congressman’s failure to indicate it in his statement of assets and liabilities as a legislator.

Aquino also shrugged off Arroyo’s taking a swipe at his purchase of a luxury sports car.

“I’m sorry but I’d rather not argue with him,” he said. 

“There is only one issue. The only issue is he earned income that can be clearly seen in the SALN that has been increasing. For your income, you have an obligation to pay taxes. The accusation is, you have not even filed,” he added.

“Not paying enough taces is different thing, but in this case you did not even file income tax returns. It’s this simple: If you paid taxes, show us your income tax returns and the issue is over,” he said.