MANILA, Philippines — Jeane Napoles did not attend the arraignment proceedings of her tax evasion case in the Court of Tax Appeals on Wednesday, April 29.
The law requires an accused to attend the arraignment proceedings to be informed of the nature and cause of the charges.
During the arraignment, the accused shall also be required to plead guilty or not guilty to the allegations.
Because of this, the court has ordered the issuance of arrest warrant against Jeanne.
However, Jeane’s counsel Atty. Lani David said, their camp has been waiting for the resolution of the motions they filed including their motion for cancellation of the arraignment proceedings.
She refused to tell where Jeanne is.
The Court of Tax Appeals through the 3rd Division chairperson Associate Justice Esperanza Fabon-Victorino, warns David of facing stricter sanctions should Jeane fails to attend the rescheduled arraignment on May 27.
Jeane is facing one count of tax evasion in the first and third division.
Records of the bureau of internal revenue reveals that Jeanne was said to have evaded paying taxes amounting to 17.88 million pesos.
These include her real estate properties such as the condominium unit in California and two farms in Pangasinan.
Jeane has previously settled bail amounting to 50 thousand pesos for each count of her tax evasion case in the first and third division of the CTA.
But the court forfeited the bail because of Jeane’s failure to attend her scheduled arraignment.
The tax evasion or tax fraud is the illegal or fraudulent way of minimizing the supposed tax amount to be paid by a tax payer.
If found guilty of tax evasion, the accused will be imprisoned and penalized. (JOAN NANO / UNTV News)