MANILA, Philippines ? Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has found an ally in the Senate in his fight over a P2.2-billion tax delinquency case that one senator even lambasted some officials for their ?callousness.?
?It could have been done in a better way considering he is a pride of the country. Pwede namang singilin nang hindi ganyan kalupit,? opposition Senator Vicente ?Tito? Sotto III said in a text message to reporters on Wednesday.
?It shows the callousness and non-compassion of some of our officials,? Sotto said.
Neophyte Senator Grace Poe, an administration ally, also found it ?unfortunate? that the garnishment issue on some of Pacquiao?s bank account came just after his recent victory against Brandon Rios.
?It is just unfortunate that this garnishment issue came out right after Manny has just made the Filipinos proud with his impressive win against Rios,? Poe said in a separate text message.
?Without passing judgment on the merits of the tax case, I urge Manny and the BIR (Bureau of Investigation) to discuss this matter to find ways on how to legally settle the same,? she added.
Senator Francis ?Chiz? Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, also urged Pacquiao to just submit the documents being requested by the BIR ?to resolve and clarify the issue.?
?I have no reason to doubt that he paid the correct taxes so there should be no problem proving/showing it to the BIR,? Escudero said.
