(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Internal Revenue on Wednesday filed a P9.6-billion tax evasion case against Mighty Corp., whose owner President Rodrigo Duterte himself had ordered arrested for economic sabotage on March 7.
In a statement, the BIR said it filed the complaint with the Department of Justice against retired Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, the company president; retired judge Oscar Barrientos, its executive vice president; Alexander Wongchuking, the vice president for external affairs and assistant corporate secretary; and Ernesto Victa, the treasurer; for “unlawful possession of articles subject to excise tax without payment of the tax, and for (possession of) false, counterfeit, restored or altered stamps.”
These acts, the BIR said, are in violation of sections 263 and 265(c) of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended.
According to the BIR, of the 33,140,500 cigarette packs that were inspected by regional intelligence division officers in Mighty warehouses in San Simon, Industrial Park, in San Isidro, Pampanga, 87.5 percent carried fake tax stamps.
It added this meant that the government was defrauded of P9.6 billion in taxes.
According to the BIR, these warehouses were also unregistered.
In early March, presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo said that Duterte had ordered the arrest of the company’s owner–supposedly Wongchuking—for economic sabotage.
