As public fury mounts in response to discovered irregularities in the construction of flood control projects around the country, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) announced that it will launch a parallel investigation into contractors implicated in irregular flood control projects.
In a statement posted in an official social media account, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. announced that “the BIR will undertake a parallel investigation of contractors implicated in irregular flood control projects.”
“Should any contractor be found to have underpaid or evaded taxes, the BIR will not issue an updated tax clearance to them.”
“We will support the President’s crusade by auditing the tax returns and payments of these entities.”
He added that sanctions will be imposed on contractors found to have underpaid or evaded taxes.
According to the lawyer, “should any contractor be found to have underpaid or evaded taxes, the BIR will not issue an updated tax clearance to them.”
“The contractor will be disqualified from participating in future government procurements, and the final settlement of their existing government contracts will be suspended.”
The move comes as national outrage intensifies over the misuse of funds in flood control projects, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s inspection of a supposed P55-million river wall in Bulacan last week.
The President branded the project a “ghost project” after finding that no construction work had been carried out despite official records showing it as completed.
“Extremely—more than disappointed—I’m actually… I’m getting very angry with what’s happening here… It was ‘completed’ based on Public Works records; but nothing was done here… We didn’t see even one hollow block, or cement… All of these projects were ghost projects,” Marcos told reporters during the inspection.
The Senate and Commission on Audit have separately begun probing the alleged anomalies in flood control spending, while Malacañang has vowed to hold contractors and officials accountable.
