BIR chief says she’ll testify at Corona trial

MANILA, Philippines—Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said she will appear before the  impeachment court on Thursday but will not produce the documents that the prosecution team wants her to bring.

Henares was summoned to testify against Chief Justice Renato Corona in connection with Article 2 on “failure to disclose to the public his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth as required under the Constitution.’’

“I do not have any problem presenting it [the documents they needed] as long as they comply with Section 71 of the Tax Code, otherwise I am opening myself to criminal liability,” Henares said.

Section 71 of the National Internal Revenue Code provides that “after the assessment shall have been made…the returns, together with any corrections thereof which may have been made by the Commissioner, shall be filed in the Office of the Commissioner and shall constitute public records and be open to inspection as such upon the order of the President of the Philippines, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Finance, upon recommendation of the Commissioner.”

Henares added that it would also take time for the BIR to prepare the documents requested by the prosecution which include, among others, the income tax returns not only of the Chief Justice but his wife Cristina, their children and spouses.

She added that the prosecution also wants records of the complete transactions for the properties allegedly owned by Corona such as a unit in Bellagio Tower 1, a unit in Burgundy Tower, and property at the La Vista Subdivision, among others.

“They want the whole record of the transactions and I think when he started in government,” Henares said.

Corona served as spokesperson of then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He also served as acting Executive Secretary and a Presidential Legal Counsel prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court in 2002.