Henares: Evidence gathered so far showed tax evasion by Corona

MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares admitted Friday that the evidence they have gathered against former Chief Justice Renato Corona was incomplete although what they have showed that tax evasion has been committed.

“He reported only P20 million plus in his SALN [statement of assets and liabilities] but after we collected the data, it showed that his networth is P160 million plus,” Henares said in an interview Friday over Radyo Inquirer 990 AM.

The BIR on Thursday filed before the Department of Justice a tax evasion complaint against Corona, his daughter Maria Carla Beatriz and son-in-law Constantino Castillo.

Henares said they were able to gather some bank certifications on the dollar accounts of the former chief justice.

“He already revoked the waiver so we were not able to get bank certifications on his other accounts,” Henares added.

She said they only discovered the revocation of the waiver after going through Corona’s Banco Oro records of Corona’s accounts.

Corona signed the waiver when he testified in his impeachment trial saying it was a sign of transparency. He also challenged other public officials to follow his lead.

Originally posted: 11:23 am | Friday, August 31st, 2012