FORMER chief justice Renato Corona appeared at the Department of Justice (DoJ) in Manila on Thursday to file his answer to the tax evasion complaint filed against him and other members of his family.

Corona, accompanied by his wife Cristina, filed his counter-affidavit on the P120-million tax evasion case filed by the Bureau of the Internal Revenue (BIR) on August 30. His daughter Carla Corona-Castillo and son-in-law Constantino Castillo are facing the same charges.

The former chief justice denied the allegations and said that the process is politically motivated.

“There’s only one message that the impeachment wants to relay to the members of the judiciary: follow Malacañang so you won’t end up like the former chief justice,” Corona told reporters.

He was accused of violating Sections 254 and 255 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1997. He was accused for failing to file his income tax returns accurately in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010.

It was the first complaint filed against the former chief justice after he was impeached by the Senate for failing to disclose his wealth in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN).

Confidential process
Corona’s lawyer Anacleto Diaz, who is also the legal counsel of former president and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Pampanga province, appealed to the prosecution panel to make the counter-affidavit confidential.

 “The filing of this complaint not only taints the reputation but also the well-being of the entire family.

He has gone through a lot. This is not a political proceedings, this is a legal proceedings,” Diaz said.

Although a public document, the prosecutors, headed by Senior State Prosecutor Rosanne Balauag, granted the request and refused to give copies of the affidavit to the media.

Provide evidence
on the other hand, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares refuted Corona’s claims that the case is merely a political process. “The process is only political if we don’t have evidences filed against him. I’m sure if you look at our complaint, it is backed with a lot of documentary evidence, so how can you say it is political?” Henares told the reporters.

“I mean it is natural for anyone who we filed cases against to say it is not true because you have the right to plead guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, then it’s over. We’ll just talk about the penalties,” she said.

“We already presented the evidence so it’s his turn to present his evidence as to why he’s innocent. That’s why we have preliminary investigation and court hearings.”

With a report from Mae Favila