DOJ forms panel for P61-M tax raps vs Napoles, husband

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has created a panel to start the preliminary investigation on the P61-million tax evasion charges filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) last month against alleged pork barrel scam brains Janet Lim-Napoles and her husband Jaime.

In Office Order No. 853 signed by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, the DOJ has created a panel of prosecutors to conduct the preliminary investigation.

The panel is chaired by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Edna Valenzula, who is also the head of the prosecution panel handling the cases related to the multi-billion investment scam of Aman Futures Trading of Filipino-Malaysian businessman Manuel Amalilio.

Assistant State Prosecutors Stewart Allan Mariano and prosecution lawyer Mark Roland Estepa were designated as members of the panel.

The three-member panel has been tasked to determine whether probable cause exists in the allegations of the BIR that Napoles has a tax liability of P44.68 million, while her husband owes the government P16.43 million in taxes, or a total of P61.11 million for the couple.

In its complaint filed last Sept. 26, the BIR accused the Napoles couple of willful attempt to evade or defeat tax for the years 2004, 2006, and from 2008 until 2012.

“In addition, Janet Napoles was charged with deliberate failure to supply correct and accurate information in her Income Tax Return (ITR) for taxable years 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009 and with willful failure to file her ITRs for taxable years 2010, 2011 and 2012,” the BIR stressed.

Jaime Napoles was also charged for not supplying correct and accurate information in his ITR for 2009 and for his failure to file his ITR for 2004, 2006, 2008, and from 2010 until 2012.

“Information gathered during investigation disclosed that spouses Napoles during the years 2004 to 2012 were able to purchase and register in their names various real properties, a number of motor vehicles, several insurance policies and club shares. They also invested millions of pesos in various new corporations,” the BIR stressed.

Acquisitions of the couple included condominium units in Cityland Mega Plaza and the Discovery Center, and parcels of land in Pangasinan and Kidapawan City.

The Napoleses also have insurance policies with Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd., Philippine American Life & General Insurance Co., Inc., and Philippine Axa Life Insurance Corp., and have purchased vehicles that include a Ford Lincoln Navigator, Honda Civic and Porsche Cayenne.

The bureau said data showed Janet Napoles’ total acquisitions amounted to P4.17 million in 2004, P22.29 million in 2006, P4.35 million in 2008, P9.84 million in 2009, P6.33 million in 2010, P5.64 million in 2011 and P6.89 million in 2012.

But these were made with an income of only P195,800 in 2004, zero in 2006, P100,744 in 2008 and zero in 2009, as shown in her ITRs.

She did not file any ITR from 2010 to 2012.

Her husband, meanwhile, had total acquisitions worth P1.42 million in 2004, P5.51 million in 2006, P0.78 million in 2008, P9.25 million in 2009, P2.1 million in 2010, P1.17 million in 2011 and P3.65 million in 2012.

The bureau found that he did not file any ITR for those years except in 2009, during which he declared nothing.

Napoles is the alleged brains of the pork barrel fund scam, where some P10 billion in Priority Development Assistance Funds of lawmakers were amassed allegedly through her bogus non-government organizations.

Plunder charges have been filed against her and her cohorts, including three senators, before the Office of Ombudsman last month.