Aquino tagged in Baguio lot sale

Sunday, February 12, 2012

BAGUIO CITY -- A tax informer has implicated President Benigno Aquino III in the alleged sale of a government lot in Baguio City to a giant mall developer.

In a letter to House Minority Floor Leader Danilo Suarez, the president of the Philippine Association of Revenue Informers Danilo Lihaylihay alleged the President committed "massive tax evasion, fraud and graft and corrupt practices, through conspiracy and connivance" for the sale of a 3.4-hectare property to SM Investments Corporation.

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Lihaylihay has called on the minority bloc in the House of Representatives led by Suarez to file a resolution to the chamber's committee on justice and work for the impeachment of the President for alleged graft and corruption, plunder and betrayal of public trust.

In the three-page letter-complaint sent to Suarez, Lihaylihay alleged President Aquino, his Cabinet members and SM Investments Corporation committed plunder and may be a ground for impeachment for failing to pay or remit to the National Treasury the capital gains tax obtained from the sale of the property.

Earlier, Lihaylihay also filed a case of plunder against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the alleged illegal sale of the old Iloilo Airport. The tax informer was also responsible for the filing of a petition questioning the impeachment trial against Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In a phone interview Friday, Lihaylihay said the copy of the absolute deed of sale, which he acquired, recently involves the "Governor's Park" or the 34,528 square meters Luneta Hill property along Governor Pack Road where SM Baguio is located today.

Lihaylihay alleged the zonal value of the 3.4-hectare Luneta Hill property as of year 1998 was P64,000 per square meter, which brings to more than a billion pesos its value by 2011.

However, he claimed the lot was sold to SM for only P2,027.34 per square meter or P69,999,995.52 to be paid in six separate payments.

Lihaylihay said it is undervalued as the property already commands a P1.9 billion price based on an assessment in 2011.

"The sale or conveyance was grossly disadvantageous to the government and the Filipino people and the Republic of the Philippines was defrauded and financially damaged with P1.4 billion in the aforesaid anomalous transaction," Lihaylihay said in his complaint-affidavit.

He also added the President is not authorized to dispose, sell or convey any National Government property without authority of Congress or an appropriate law.

His complaint-affidavit also challenged Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares, both Aquino-appointees, to separately investigate the officials involved.

The tax informant also claimed there should be an immediate evaluation of the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth of Aquino, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and SM Investments Corporation to compare and cross-check it in relation with income tax returns from 2002 to 2012.

He said this is important in protecting the interest of the Filipino people as he alleged Aquino and his Cabinet members may be culpable to anti-graft laws.

This way, the President may be subjected to a probe on internal revenue deficiencies and exactly determine how much they have not remitted to the national coffers.

As tax informer, he also added he is entitled to a 25 percent informer's reward pursuant to Republic Act 2338 or An Act to Provide for Reward to Informers of Violations of the Internal Revenue and Customs Laws.

He said copies of his complaint-affidavit are now on its way to the respondents.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte refused to comment on the issue as she asked time to seek clarification from the President.

She, meanwhile, dismissed other reports that Ochoa was involved in the signing of fake documents for the sale of the property, saying the executive secretary as a lawyer knows the implication of such action.

"I could not verify the details of that issue at this point. I will ask about it and we will update you on this," Valte said.

She is also confident that the President and Ochoa will be able to explain the supposed anomaly to the public.

"Normally, when there are things like this, we are able to explain because everything we do is aboveboard," she said. (With Jill Beltran/Sunnex)