By: ExplainED PH - Aklan
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| Photo: Philstar |
Former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s lawyer claimed that the late dictator’s son “directly” paid his tax deficiencies to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Dec. 27, 2001, having told the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that Marcos Jr. did not settle his unpaid taxes and fines with the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) that convicted him in 1995 of tax evasion.
During the preliminary hearing of three petitions questioning the presidential candidacy of the former senator, lawyer Hanna Barcena, however, was unable to present the BIR receipt after Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, who presided over the proceedings, asked for proof of payment.
Barcena instead cited a Dec. 9, 2021 certification by the BIR, which supposedly demonstrated that Marcos Jr. had complied with the order of Quezon City RTC Branch 105 directing him to pay the taxes owed and the corresponding fines.
The certification was presented by lawyer Victor Rodriguez in a press conference, indicating that the former senator paid penalties totalling Php 67,137 in 2001, the same amount stated in a decision by the Court of Appeals (CA).
In 1997, the CA upheld Quezon City RTC’s tax evasion conviction on Marcos Jr. but modified their decision, sparing him from serving time in jail. Moreover, he was also sentenced to up to nine years in prison by the lower court for failing to pay taxes and file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985.
At the hearing, lawyers raised their issues such as whether Marcos Jr. is perpetually disqualified from running for office and whether he was found guilty of a crime of moral depravity.
Aside from this, it was also questioned whether the former senator is perpetually disqualified due to his conviction, which carried a sentence of more than 18 months.
Among the lawyers who presented were Jake Rey Fajardo (for Martial Law victims led by Bonifacio Ilagan) and Antonio Salvador, counsel of another group of petitioners led by Akbayan partylist.
Fajardo, representing the group of petitioners led by Ilagan, contended that Marcos Jr. was already barred from running for public office due to his conviction for violating the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.
As stated in Section 253 of the law, a public officer or employee who violates the tax code shall be "dismissed from the public service and perpetually disqualified from holding any public office, to vote and to participate in any election."
When asked for proof, Fajardo cited a Dec. 2, 2021 certification by the Quezon City RTC that the former senator had failed to comply with its order to pay all of his tax deficiencies and surcharges.
“The payment was made directly to the BIR. There was a payment made,” answered Barcena when asked by Guanzon if she admits that her client did not pay the fines with the court.
"We have no evidence that the payment was made in court," she added, "But we have a certification from the BIR that the payment was made through the LandBank."
The lawyer stated that they would search their records for the receipt as Guanzon ordered her to submit copies of it as documentary evidence.
The hearing, according to Ilagan, spokesperson for the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA), symbolized the "long battle for integrity and justice" to prevent a Marcosian return 36 years after the EDSA People Power Revolution dethroned the dictator.
Ilagan, who was tortured after his detention during military rule said that CARMMA, as a coalition of martial law victims, would continue to “keep guard” and “fight tooth and nail, in the courts or in the streets, to resist a Marcos restoration and a Duterte extension.”
He further stated that letting the dictator’s son to run despite his conviction in the tax case “would be a mockery not only of the elections but of our nation’s history, our democracy, and our hard-won rights and freedoms.”
Furthermore, the petition of Abubakar Mangelen, who claims to be the duly elected chairman of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), was not heard because neither he nor any of his counsel appeared at the hearing. Marcos Jr. is the PFP's well-known standard-bearer with his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
In an interview with the Inquirer, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio stated that because the fine is a penalty for the crime, not a tax, it should be paid to the court as the BIR does not have the authority to accept payment for the fine.
“The deficiency income tax should be paid to the BIR upon order of the court. After payment to the BIR of the deficiency income tax, proof of payment must be submitted to the court,” he clarified.
The former justice also said that there would be legal ramifications in the case, implying that Marcos Jr. has not served his sentence, according to RTC official records.
Due to the former senator's absence and his failure to attend even via online, the Comelec’s First Division’s preliminary conference of disqualification cases was delayed for over an hour.
After being exposed to two of his staff who tested positive for COVID-19, Barcena said that the presidential aspirant had been in quarantine, presenting a copy of a medical certificate issued by Dr. Benedict Francis Valdecañas, an orthopaedist.
It was stated that Marcos Jr. had body malaise, febrile episodes, and was having a hard time speaking “due to a painfully congested throat.”
On Sunday, Bongbong Marcos’ camp confirmed that despite feeling ill, he gave two interviews on Jan. 6, the day before the Comelec hearing, stating that Marcos Jr.’s condition only “exacerbated” after attending the afternoon interview scheduled that day on Partners Punto Derecho radio show over DZME 1530.
Now I have to rewuire the doctor who examined Marcos Jr to have his medical cert notarized and indicate his medical license number. https://t.co/Z7wuhyO5KE
— Rowena Guanzon (@rowena_guanzon) January 9, 2022
Meanwhile on Monday, Guanzon said on Twitter that she will require Rodriguez to show cause or that Veldecañas have his medical certificate notarized and include his medical license number.