SENATOR Grace Poe said Sunday she was pursuing a review of the financial records of SPO3 Ricky Santa Isabel, the principal suspect in the kidnapping and killing of a South Korean businessman last year, to determine the sources of his wealth and whether or not he was paying the correct taxes.
Poe, who earlier called for lifestyle checks on rogue cops involved in “Tokhang-for-ransom” cases and other illegal activities, said although Santa Isabel claimed he secured loans to run their businesses and his wife was managing them, it was necessary that the public be enlightened on the sources of his wealth and the discrepancies in his income.
“Nakita natin bumaba yung SALN ni Santa Isabel. Nag-umpisa sa P20 million tapos naging P14 million, may mga depreciation cost doon at mga utang,” Poe said in a radio interview.
“Pero yun naman, tingnan mo, bakit sa isang punto ay umabot sa ganoong halaga? Hindi naman natin sinasabi na baka naman yung kanyang misis ay talagang matagumpay sa kanyang trabaho, pero titingnan natin yung kanilang taxes. Sila ba ay nagbayad ng kaukulang buwis para dito? Maraming paraan, sabi nga, kung talagang gusto ay mahahanapan iyan ng paraan.”
Poe said the review should include the ITR of the wife to determine not just the payment of taxes but also the income from where the pieces of property listed in the SALN could be sourced. In the absence of such, it would be evident that the pieces of property were ill-gotten.
It was revealed during the Senate investigation that Santa Isabel declared multi-million-peso assets despite his P8,000 monthly salary in the police service.
In 2014 he had a net worth of P20.3 million but that went down to P14.4 million in 2015. The police officer also had five houses in Bagombong, Caloocan, a four-story commercial building in Cubao, Quezon City, a 2014 Toyota Hi-Lux, a 2012 Toyota Vios, a 2014 Honda tricycle and 2012 Kawasaki tricycle.
Santa Isabel also admitted that he had many businesses but those were being run by his wife. Those included a lotto outlet, a Western Union remittance center and Bayad Center.
Poe reiterated her call to Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa to punish scalawags in the PNP and clean up its ranks to regain the public’s trust in the police.