Ligots placed on hold departure list

Jacinto Ligot and Erlinda Ligot. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration has placed former military comptroller Jacinto Ligot and his wife Erlinda in its hold departure list upon the order of the Court of Tax Appeals.

In a two-page order, Immigration Associate Commissioner Abdulla Mangotara cited a November 4 resolution of the CTA’s second division that issued a hold departure order against the Ligot couple.

Mangotara ordered the BI’s airport operations and immigration regulations divisions to enforce the order. The agency’s computer section was also ordered update its hold departure list.

The CTA ordered the arrest of the couple on October 31 for their alleged failure to file their income tax returns in 2003 and to report on other income they made during that year.

Based on the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s investigation, the Ligots did not declare a total of P164.3 million that they gained in 2003, which makes them liable for P153.2 million in taxes, excluding interest and penalty.

The couple posted P160,000 bail on November 2.