It was the regional director for Northern Mindanao of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) who filed the criminal case against Manny Pacquiao for violation of the National Internal Revenue Code. But he couldn?t have acted on his own, considering the stature of the respondent. His boss, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares and, perhaps, even Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima himself, must have been consulted and have given their respective go-signal.
Manny Pacquiao isn?t any ordinary taxpayer. He is nothing short of a national treasure, a boxer with unparalleled skills, probably the greatest man that ever wore a pair of gloves. The amount that he pays in income taxes for one year runs to millions of pesos, which is more than most of us can hope to earn in a lifetime. He also happens to be an honorable member of Congress.
So why should the government be harassing Mr. Pacquiao?
He has lost millions of dollars worth of endorsements in the United States since the filing of the case against him, Manny grumbled. In the land that nurtured Al Capone, they don?t have much love for, or see very little chance to cash in on, a tax evader even if his name is Manny Pacquiao, it seems.
But wait. Did the government, in suing Pacquiao, accuse him of tax evasion? From what I?ve read, the BIR filed the complaint because the congressman did not heed their demand to submit his books of accounts and accounting records. Indeed, all he has to do is submit these documents, BIR Director Rozil Lozares said, ?then we will withdraw the case filed before the City Prosecutor?s Office.?
That is not an unreasonable demand and definitely not a difficult one for the boxing champion–for that matter, any taxpayer–to comply with especially if, as he claims, he has religiously paid all the taxes due the government. So why is he crying harassment instead?
He cannot complain that the BIR filed the charges against him hastily because the records show that the agency gave him more than sufficient allowance to comply with their order. As to his claim that he was busy preparing for his match against Juan Manuel Marquez on or about the time that the BIR order was served on him, that is not a justifiable excuse.
For one whose net worth is more than one billion pesos, Pacquiao can, at the flick of a finger, summon the best lawyers and accountants to his side anytime of the day or night. For crying out loud, why didn?t Pacquiao immediately refer the BIR summons to them? That?s their reason for being, to take care of Pacquiao?s affairs so he can concentrate on his boxing.
In fact, one of them did see the BIR in Pacquiao?s behalf on Feb. 7 but he did not bring any of the documents with him. The BIR filed the complaint on March 1, which means that the BIR waited for another three weeks since the visit of Pacquiao?s lawyer before deciding to elevate the case to the prosecutor?s office and eventually to the courts.
It is also noteworthy to point out that no one, not even and especially Pacquiao, has accused any BIR official or employee of trying to extort money from him. How can the filing of the complaint then be anything but an honest effort to enforce the law and Pacquiao?s claim of harassment but the ?petulance of a VIP not being treated as one,? as the multi-awarded and most-read Sun.Star columnist put it in News Sense last Thursday?
What was it that the American philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, once wrote? That ?humility, like darkness, reveals the heavenly lights.? God need not have to appear to you in your dream to teach that.
