Coronas ask DOJ for more time to reply to tax raps

Former Chief Justice Renato Corona. SENATE POOL

Former Chief Justice Renato Corona, his daughter Beatriz and son-in-law Constantino Castillo III failed to appear at the Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday for the first hearing of the tax evasion charges filed against them by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Lawyer Reinard Sanchez, who represented Corona and the spouses Castillo, asked for more time to submit their counter-affidavits.

The DOJ panel—composed of Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Roseanne Balauag and Prosecution Attorneys Roland Estepa and Jayvee Laurence Bandong—gave the respondents up to Oct. 5 to submit, separately of jointly, their counter-affidavits.

If Corona and the Castillos fail to submit their replies on that day, the complaint will be considered submitted for resolution by the panel, the prosecutors said.

Sanchez said the complaint against his clients were “voluminous” so they need more time to study its contents and prepare the reply.

The BIR had alleged that Corona owed the government about P120.5 million in income taxes due from bank deposits and real estate properties that the did not declare in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

The income tax liability of his daughter was assessed at P9.93 million while Castillo’s was pegged at P20.25 million.

Corona said the tax cases were part of the government’s political persecution against him and his family.