By Charmaine Odong
SAN PABLO CITY, Laguna – Following President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s orders to hold accountable contractors allegedly involved in anomalous flood control projects, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has announced the conduct of parallel audit and investigation on unscrupulous contractors to determine irregularities in their tax liabilities.
In a recent online statement , BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. announced that the Bureau will conduct a parallel investigation into contractors involved in irregular flood control projects and emphasized that any contractors found to have underpaid or evaded taxes will not be issued an updated tax clearance by the BIR.
“I have ordered an immediate tax fraud audit against contractors involved in anomalous flood control projects. While the President’s investigation is ongoing, the Bureau will conduct a parallel audit of their tax returns and payments,” Commissioner said.
He added: “If tax underpayment or evasion is proven, they will be denied for an updated tax clearance, and have their contract settlement suspended, and they will be disqualified from future government projects.”
For projects identified as “ghost,” the Bureau will disallow all related costs and expenses once the appropriate agency confirms the non-existence of such projects.
Lumagui then emphasized that if there is no project, there should be no deductible expenses, and a tax deficiency assessment will follow.
The order is in accordance with the provisions of Revenue Regulation No. 17-2024 (RR No. 17-2024), which mandates government contractors without Income Tax Return (ITR) and updated tax clearances be excluded from government projects.
In Revenue Region 9B-LaQueMar (Laguna-Quezon-Marinduque), Regional Director lawyer Michael Remir Macatangay affirmed their commitment to the Bureau’s call by working to identify potential tax deficiencies and holding those accountable, stressing the importance of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.
“We will focus on ensuring the correct taxes are paid, and if contractors defrauded the government, we will hold them accountable, and file cases. Commissioner Lumagui urged us to report, whether it’s an anonymous complaint or information, and we will follow through. Believe me, we will follow through,” Macatangay said during the Ugnayan at Talakayan sa Laguna program on August 27.
The BIR director also mentioned that the issues surrounding the flood control projects are discouraging taxpayers from paying the correct taxes, as they believe government funds are ending up in the pockets of contractors. He stated that if this continues, it would be a disservice to the Filipino people.
“If we believe in that kind of point of view, no one will pay taxes, no one will operate, there will be no roads, no teachers, everything will be lost, and I think that would be a disservice to the people, as they won’t receive the services they need because of such news.”
BIR urged the public to cooperate and report any information related to anomalous flood control projects via commissioner@bir.gov.ph to hold contractors accountable for their possible tax obligations.
