Tinanggi ng dalawang hukom ng Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) na tinawagan sila ni Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno para i-delay ang paglalabas ng warrant of arrest laban kay dating Department of Justice (DOJ) Sec. Leila de Lima.

Ayon sa tagapagsalita ni Sereno na si Atty. Lary Gadon, nakasaad na inabot ng ilang buwan bago nakapaglabas ng warrant of arrest ang dalawang hukom.

“You have created the impression that somebody called you not to issue the warrant of arrest because of the delay,” ani impeachment committee vice chair Rep. Vicente Veloso.

“That impression is not correct because the first volume of the case is high so, I have to read all of them,” payahag ni Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz ng Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204.

“Personally, I did not receive any instruction from the chief justice to call judges handling the cases against Sen. de Lima,” sabi ni Judge Jenny Lind Aldecoa-Delorino, deputy court administrator ng Korte Suprema.

“We are very independent of each other cases,” ani Judge Patria Manalastas-de Leon ng Muntinlupa RTC Branch 206.

Samantala, nakakita ng discrepancy o hindi pagkakatugma ang Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) sa mga buwis na ibinayad ni Chief Justice Sereno matapos ang ginawang pagsisiyasat ng ahensya.

Subalit tumanggi si BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa na ihayag sa impeachment committee ang detalye ng kanilang report.

Base umano sa Sec. 270 ng tax code, maari lamang nilang ilabas ang impormasyon patungkol sa tax findings ng sinumang opisyal ng pamahalaan kung ito ay apprubado ng presidente ng bansa, kung may pahintulot ang taong iniimbestigahan o kung ipag-utos ng judicial court at Senate impeachment court.

“We have observed some discrepancies but as I qualify it we have to determine and based it on other document so we can finally determine and based it on other documents,” ani Guballa.

Samantala depensa naman ng kampo ni Sereno: “Lahat ng taxes na kailangan bayaran binayaran po ni chief justice wala po silang makikita na tax evasion.”

(Grace Casin/UNTV Correspondent)

Tags: Leila De Lima, Muntinlupa RTC, Sereno