Supreme Court upholds Mikey Arroyo acquittal of tax evasion

The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the acquittal of former Ang Galing Pinoy party-list representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo from a P27.3-million tax evasion case.

The First Division threw out the government's appeal assailing the Court of Tax Appeals' (CTA) clearing the former presidential son for the petition's "procedural defects and substantive deficiencies," the court announced on Wednesday.

The division ruled that the tax court "did not act capriciously or whimsically in absolving [Arroyo] of the charges" but did not make a pronouncement on costs of suit, according to an extended minute resolution quoted in a press statement.

The CTA acquitted Arroyo earlier this year for the prosecution's failure to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt of violation of the National Internal Revenue Code by allegedly underdeclaring his wealth in his income tax returns in 2004, 2006, and 2007.

The tax court also dismissed the civil actions to collect the alleged tax deficiencies.

The government then sought relief from the High Court, which ruled that the CTA "assiduously sifted the evidence and analysed the records" and explained the merits of the charges.

The CTA also "fully disclosed the various reasons" why the government's allegations failed and how the net worth method, the chosen audit procedure, "did not suffice to prove [Arroyo's] criminal liability" under the charges, the SC said.

"In criminal cases, the quantum of evidence required is proof beyond reasonable doubt; hence, the Prosecution's inability to identify the likely sources of the unreported or undeclared income of the taxpayer was a sure index of its failure to discharge the quantum," the First Division held.

Stressing the procedural rules should be given "utmost respect and due regard," the justices also ruled that the direct action to the SC was "premature" because the government did not first file a motion for reconsideration before the CTA.

The omission was a "gross violation" of the Rules of Court, which states that a petition for certiorari may be filed only when there is no other "plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law," the SC said. — RSJ, GMA News