Corona given until Friday to face DOJ panel for tax evasion

Ousted Chief Justice Renato C. Corona. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice gave former Chief Justice Renato Corona up to Friday to face the panel handling the tax evasion case filed against him by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Corona failed to appear during Tuesday’s preliminary investigation due to flu.

Senior State Prosecutor Roseanne Balauag said Corona needed to swear in on the rejoinder or his response to the allegations of the BIR.

Balauag is the head of the panel handling the case against Corona.

The panel granted the request of Corona’s lawyer that they be given up to Friday for the former Chief Justice to appear.

Balauag said if Corona failed to appear on Friday, they would submit the case for resolution.

On August 30, the BIR filed a tax evasion case worth P150.68 million at the DoJ against Corona.

Based on the BIR complaint Corona did not declare all his assets in his Statement of Assets Liabilities and Networth.

Aside from the bank deposits, Corona also did not declare two properties he acquired during his stint in government: a condominium unit at the
Columns, along Ayala Avenue that he bought for P3.6 million in 2004 and a property in Fort Bonifacio that he bought for P9.16 million in 2005.

After examining Corona’s bank records and compared it with his networth, Henares said they discovered a substantial disparity between the acquisition cost of the properties declared in his SALNs and the cost declared in the certificates authorizing registrations.

Using the “expenditure method,” the BIR found that Corona’s deficiency income tax liability amounted to P120.5 million for the nine-year period.