Tax evasion raps filed vs 2 contractors of Bulacan ‘ghost’ projects
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday filed charges of tax code violations resulting in a combined tax deficiency worth P13.8 million against two public works contractors allegedly involved in “ghost” flood control projects in Bulacan.
The BIR filed criminal complaints in the Department of Justice (DOJ) against IM Construction Corp. and SYMS Construction Trading for violating the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), specifically Section 254 (tax evasion) and Section 255 (submitting incorrect and inaccurate information in tax returns).
The tax deficiencies of the two companies arose from the fictitious expenses, underreported income and false value-added tax they allegedly declared, according to the BIR.
BIR chief Charlito Martin Mendoza said SYMS’s tax deficiency amounted to P6.4 million in the first and second quarters of 2025 and IM’s deficiency was P7.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The BIR’s complaints were the latest in a series of charges of violations of the NIRC against persons and entities allegedly involved in the multibillion-peso corruption scandal in the government’s flood control projects.
“These cases are part of a broader and intensified crackdown on contractors engaged in ghost projects and fraudulent tax practices,” Mendoza said, referring to the anticorruption campaign launched by President Marcos against nonexistent, substandard and incomplete flood control projects.
IM was supposed to have installed a pumping station and flood gate in Barangay Sto. Rosario, Hagonoy, Bulacan. However, Mendoza said that upon physical verification, no structure of any kind was built.
‘No basis’
“They filed a return, but the project is a ghost project. There was really no project done at all. So, their deductions, construction costs, have no basis, are fictitious, and were only made up to reduce the tax to be paid,” Mendoza said.
SYMS was supposed to reinforce a river wall in Barangay Piel, Baliwag, Bulacan. However, Mendoza said that nothing was built there.
IM, which is based in Quezon City, is owned and managed by Robert Imperio while SYMS, owned and managed by Sally Santos, operates out of Malolos, Bulacan.
According to submissions on the Sumbong Sa Pangulo website, IM has 34 listed projects, including the P96.5-million rehabilitation of the Meycauayan River flood control system in Obando, Bulacan, and the P19.2-million construction of a retaining wall in Quezon City.
Asset freeze order
SYMS has 16 projects—all in Bulacan—that were listed in the Sumbong Sa Pangulo website.
IM and SYMS were included in a Sept. 16 asset freeze order by the Court of Appeals covering 135 bank accounts and 27 insurance policies linked to individuals and companies allegedly involved in the flood control anomalies.
The BIR has so far filed three sets of cases based on 12 criminal complaints related to the anomalous flood control projects, with an estimated total tax liability of P8.87 billion.
Those charged included engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the prominent contractor couple, Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and his wife, Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya.
The case against the DPWH engineers was based on a lifestyle check. The Discayas were charged with unpaid income tax, unpaid excise for nine of their luxury vehicles and nonpayment of documentary stamp taxes for their construction companies.
The anticorruption campaign was triggered by the President’s disclosures in August that only 15 companies out of 2,000 nationwide accounted for nearly 20 percent of over P500 billion worth of flood control projects from 2022 to 2025—the first three years of his administration.
Sandiganbayan cases
There are now three separate court cases in the Sandiganbayan involving a nonexistent road dike project worth about P289.5 million in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, that was “found to have serious structural deficiencies.” These were the first filed in court since Mr. Marcos launched his campaign.
The accused in the cases include Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, five officers of Sunwest Inc., a construction company he had founded, and 10 DPWH officials from Region 4B, or Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan).
Eight of the DPWH officials pleaded not guilty during their arraignment on a graft charge of causing “undue injury” to the government before the Fifth Division of the Sandiganbayan on Thursday.
They were:
1. Gerald Pacanan, DPWH Region 4B regional director
2. Dennis Pelo Abagon, OIC-chief, DPWH Region 4B Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division and former member of the bidding and awards committee
3. Ruben delos Santos Jr., assistant regional director
4. Gene Ryan Alurin Altea, former assistant regional director (now director of DPWH Bureau of Maintenance)
5. Dominic Gregorio Serrano, chief, DPWH 4B Construction Division
6. Project engineer III Felisardo Sevare Casun
7. Lerma Dotado Cayco, DPWH 4B bidding and awards committee Account IV
8. Montrexis Tamayo, DPWH 4B Planning and Design Division officer in charge
During the arraignment, the antigraft court revealed that DPWH 4B maintenance division head Juliet Calvo will be arraigned on Dec. 2 as it had not issued an order requiring her appearance during Thursday’s hearing. She is currently detained at Camp Caringal.
Co and 15 others were accused of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents in the Sixth Division. They allegedly made bogus accomplishment reports and false certifications in order to collect project payments.
More arrests vowed
The Office of the Ombudsman did not recommend bail for this charge as the funds involved exceeded the P8.8-million threshold.
Co, who has remained out of the country since July, is the sole accused in the second graft case filed in the Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division for allegedly receiving unwarranted financial benefits.
Acting Philippine National Police chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said on Thursday that the other accused would soon be taken into custody.
“With how operations are being carried out now, we in the PNP are confident that all remaining accused will be accounted for,” Nartatez said in a statement.
According to the PNP, Tamayo was the latest to be arrested. He was taken into custody by the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Aviation Security Group on Tuesday on his return from the United Arab Emirates. Officers served him two arrest warrants at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
Nartatez said the arrest “strengthens the ongoing investigation and sends a clear message that no one is above the law.”
Co videos
“Our countrymen should not worry,” said the PNP acting chief. “The PNP will continue enforcing the law, especially in cases that have a significant impact on the public.”
Co, who is at the center of the flood control scandal as former head of the House appropriations committee, broke his silence about the flood control anomalies and kickbacks last week.
In a series of video statements, he accused the President, former Speaker Martin Romualdez and the President’s son, Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos III, of pocketing billions of pesos in kickbacks from budget insertions. He also said first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos controlled rice imports.
The Marcoses and Romualdez have flatly denied his allegations and challenged him to return to the country to file charges against them. —WITH REPORTS FROM FAITH ARGOSINO, GABRYELLE DUMALAG AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
