DOJ exec inhibits self from tax credit probe

Justice Undersecretary Antonio Llorente was forced to inhibit himself yesterday from the preliminary investigation being conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) into the multi-billion peso tax credit scam.

"I will no longer appear there," said Llorente, adding though that he is still a member of the presidential task force looking into the scam.

"I have not resigned, and if ever, monitoring na lang ang gagawin ko para wala ng malisya o gulo (I'll just monitor it so there will be no questions or trouble)," Llorente said.

Llorente's presence in the preliminary investigation was questioned by defense lawyer Jose Flaminiano, counsel for former Finance Undersecretary Antonio Belicena who was accused of giving unwarranted benefits to oil and bus companies in providing them with allegedly forged tax credit certificates (TCCs).

Officials of the three bus firms facing falsification charges with the DOJ - JAM Liner, AMA Transport Services Inc. and Juaymah and Maureen Transport - snubbed yesterday's hearing.

JAM Liner allegedly managed to acquire spurious and falsified TCCs worth P11.8 million in cahoots with certain Department of Finance (DOF) officials, like Belicena, executive director Uldarico Andutan and tax specialist Raul de Vera.

Juaymah and AMA Transport allegedly got TCCs worth P9.2 million and P4.4 million, respectively.

Flaminiano, whose son Jay was his co-counsel, said Llorente may have committed an "impropriety" in attending the DOJ inquiry because the prosecutors handling the case were obviously his "subordinates."

But Senior State Prosecutor Jude Romano, head of the panel, assured the defense lawyers that nobody could influence their resolution of the case.