For two hours, the Court of Tax Appeals heard the case against boxing champ and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee.
The case stems from the complaint of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that Pacquiao failed to pay taxes covering 2008 to 2009, with the liability now reaching over P2.2 billion.
First Division Judge Roman Del Rosario presided over the hearing.
The complainant presented four witnesses, BIR officers Virma Clemente, Amelita Aquino, Cynthia Catolico and 1 employee from the servicing courier, LBC, named Veronica de la Cruz.
Pacquiao was represented by his legal counsels Michael Garcia and Jayson Fernandez.
The bulk of the hearing centered on the how the BIR’s Final Decision on Disputed Assessment or FDDA was delivered to Pacquiao.
The document contains how much tax liability Pacquiao has to settle.
Jayson Fernandez argued that the burden of proof is on BIR to show that it served the notice according to prescribed procedure.
The BIR sent copies of the written notice via LBC to the Pacquiao residences in General Santos City and Sarangani, where security guards at the boxing champ’s houses received the documents on May 18 last year.
The BIR officers said they also sent copies to Pacquiao’s office at the Batasan Complex two days after the first one was dispatched.
Pacquiao’s staff, Erwin Jamora, believed to be a relative of Jinkee, is said to have received the document.
Garcia argued that an important document such as the FDDA should be personally handed to the taxpayer, and not to anyone else.
Garcia is also petitioning that the warrants of garnishment on his client’s bank accounts be lifted while the tax case hearing is ongoing.
But BIR’s counsel, Paul Velasco, counters that CTA should not lift the warrants of garnishment, as Pacquiao’s camp failed to reply within 30 days of notice.
Pacquiao filed a civil case against the BIR before the CTA in August, way past the deadline.
The BIR points out also that only about P1.1 million in cash was frozen from Pacquiao’s bank account.
This is the fourth hearing on the boxing champ’s tax case, and the next one is set for January 23.
