The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will audit contractors linked to alleged corruption in flood control projects as national outrage grows over what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has denounced as “ghost projects.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said the bureau would launch a parallel investigation into contractors flagged in ongoing probes.
“The BIR will undertake a parallel investigation of contractors implicated in irregular flood control projects,” Lumagui said.
The inquiry will focus on whether contractors properly declared income and paid taxes.
“We will support the president’s crusade by auditing the tax returns and payments of these entities,” Lumagui added.
Sanctions await those found to have underpaid or evaded taxes.
Contractors caught cheating on taxes will not only face penalties but will also lose the ability to do business with the government, the BIR head said.
“The contractor will be disqualified from participating in future government procurements, and the final settlement of their existing government contracts will be suspended,” Lumagui warned.
The announcement comes amid rising public anger over revelations that funds for flood control projects have been misused or left unspent.
Marcos recently inspected multi-million projects that turned out to be unfinished beyond deadline. One of such projects was what was supposed to be a P55-million riverwall in Bulacan. Records claimed its completed; on the ground, nothing had been built.
“Extremely—more than disappointed—I’m actually … I’m getting very angry with what’s happening here,” the president told reporters.
“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.”
The Commission on Audit and the Senate have launched parallel inquiries into the anomalies, while Malacañang has pledged to hold both contractors and complicit officials accountable.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, who first raised the issue in a Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, said the case would measure the government’s resolve.
“This is not just about ghost projects,” Estrada said. “This is about proving that accountability will extend to both contractors and the officials who allowed this to happen.”
