TOBACCO firm Mighty Corporation owner Alexander Wongchuking has filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) his reply-affidavit on the second tax evasion charges filed against him by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for his firm's alleged used of fake tax stamps.
The second counter-affidavit submitted before the panel of prosecutors led is in answer to the P26.93 billion worth of tax charges filed against Mighty for the raid in San Ildefonso, Bulacan that yielded cigarettes with fake tax stamps.
Wongchuking's legal counsel Atty. Abraham Espejo in an interview after the closed door preliminary investigation reiterated Mighty's stand that the series of raids conducted by the BIR and the Bureau of Customs are illegal.
Espejo said because the raid is illegal, the cigarettes seized could not be accepted as evidence.
He also added that it could be possible that the seized items were only invented by the said agencies which conducted raids.
Wongchuking's camp, through Espejo, has asked the DOJ to consolidate all three cases against Mighty that assessed the domestic firm of P37.884 billion worth in tax liabilities.
The DOJ last May 30 terminated the preliminary investigation into the first complaint against the cigarette firm worth P9.56 billion.
Named respondents in the complaint aside from Wongchuking are Mighty President and former Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff Edilberto Adan, Executive Vice President and retired Judge Oscar Barrientos and Treasurer Ernesto Victa. (SunStar Philippines)