Poe wants taxes of SPO3 Sta. Isabel’s wife checked

Sen. Grace Poe (Pictured) on Sunday said that she wants the income tax return (ITR) of the wife of SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel checked. (Photo: Grace Poe/ Facebook)

MANILA –Sen. Grace Poe on Sunday said that she wants the income tax return (ITR) of the wife of SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel checked.

Sta. Isabel is the primary suspect on the killing of Korean national Jee Ick-Joo while inside Camp Crame. To recall, Poe earlier called for lifestyle checks on rogue cops involved in purported “tokhang-for-ransom” cases which are illegal operations masked as “Oplan Tokhang” of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“We saw that Sta. Isabel’s SALN (statements of assets and liabilities and net worth) decreased. It started with PHP20 million (in 2014) then became PHP14 million (in 2015). But our point is why did it reach that high? We have to look at their taxes. Did they pay their taxes for this?” Poe said in a radio interview.

To recall, during the hearing into the killing of Jee, PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Chief Supt. Roel Obusan revealed Sta. Isabel’s SALN which shocked senators considering his monthly salary of PHP8,000.

Sta. Isabel said that his wife Jinky, a law graduate, was responsible for earning most of their income to run their businesses including lotto and remittance businesses.

“The review should include the ITR of the wife to determine not just the payment of taxes but also the income from where the properties listed in the SALN could be sourced. In the absence of such, it is evident that the properties are ill-gotten,” she added.

Sta. Isabel also claimed that he has numerous businesses, but said these were run by his wife, which included a lotto outlet, a Western Union remittance center and Bayad Center.

Poe meanwhile reiterated her call to PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to punish scalawags in the PNP and clean up its ranks.

“If he (Dela Rosa) is really serious in punishing guilty cops, he should relieve them immediately,” she said.