Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Manchester, Mikael Phillips, has issued a public apology to his immediate family and the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) for failing to submit his 2022 statutory declaration on time to the Integrity Commission (IC).
The politician also failed to pay a fixed penalty of $250,000 to Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), which would have resulted in him avoiding prosecution by the IC.
Phillips admitted at a PNP meeting in South East St Elizabeth last Sunday night that the developments had brought embarrassment to his family members, which warranted a public apology.
"The Integrity Commission tabled a report..., and dem table one for me for not paying a late fee, but a want to publicly apologise to my own family, because it brings them some embarrassment to," Phillips said.
"I want to publicly apologise to the Comrade leader (Mark Golding) and my colleagues in Parliament and my colleagues and... PNP family. I want to say I'm sorry... From the bottom of my heart, it will never happen again and I am sorry," he offered.
Phillips also made a bold claim, stating that no PNP MP would ever face allegations of illicit enrichment that would warrant an investigation report being tabled in the House of Representatives.
The IC's investigation report into Phillips was tabled in the House of Representatives last Tuesday.
The IC’s Director of Corruption Prosecution, Keisha Prince-Kameka recommended that Phillips be charged with the offence of failure, without reasonable cause, to submit his statutory declaration for the period ending December 31, 2022, contrary to section 43(l)(a) of the ICA.
The charges were only recommended after Phillips failed to pay the fixed penalty, despite subsequently filing the outstanding statutory declaration.
Although the IC’s investigation report on Phillips was not tabled in the Parliament until last Tuesday, four days prior, Phillips moved to clear the air, dismissing reports that he was being investigated for illicit enrichment.
In a statement, Phillips acknowledged that his 2022 declaration was filed late due to a delay in obtaining all the relevant documents.
He also said: “As a public servant, I take my responsibilities seriously and while the statutory declaration was delayed it is not connected with illicit enrichment.
"All my statutory declarations have been certified and the late-filing penalty of $250,000 has been paid," Phillips stated then.
