SC clears Mikey Arroyo in P27.3 million tax case

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the acquittal of former Ang Galing Pinoy party-list representative Juan Miguel “Mikey’’ Arroyo in a P27.3-million tax evasion case.

In a 13-page resolution promulgated last Sept. 12 but released only yesterday, the high court’s First Division affirmed the decision of the Court of Tax Appeals last March that dismissed the tax evasion case against the son of former president and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo due to insufficiency of evidence.

The tax evasion case against Arroyo stemmed from the complaint of the Bureau of Internal Revenue that the former lawmaker attempted to evade or defeat tax liabilities for the taxable years 2004 to 2009 and failed to file income tax returns and pay income taxes for 2005, 2008 and 2009.  

The SC dismissed the petition of government prosecutors seeking reversal of the CTA ruling, citing “procedural defects and substantive deficiencies.” 

The SC held that the petition was premature because the government did not first file a motion for reconsideration before the CTA.

“The omission was a gross violation of Section 1, Rule 65 of the Rules of Court, which authorizes the petition for certiorari to be filed only when there is no other plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law,” the SC added.

It further stressed that procedural rules should be treated with utmost respect and due regard mainly because “they have been crafted and designed to ensure the prompt adjudication of cases to remedy the problem of delay in the resolution of rival claims and in the administration of justice.” 

The Court further held that the CTA “did not act capriciously or whimsically in absolving respondent Arroyo of the charges.” 

It stressed that the appellate court “assiduously sifted the evidence and analyzed the records, explained the merits of the charges upon reviewing the elements of the offenses charged and determining whether or not the evidence adduced by the prosecution established such elements.

“Also, the CTA, noting that the Bureau of Internal Revenue did not discover the sources of Arroyo’s income, fully disclosed the various reasons why the State’s theory of the charges could not prosper and how the chosen audit procedure known as the net worth method did not suffice to prove his criminal liability under the information,” the ruling read.

In the assailed ruling, the CA acquitted Arroyo due to failure of prosecutors to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt and also dismissed the civil actions to collect the tax deficiencies on the basis that the acts or omissions from which the civil liability might arise did not transpire.