BIR files tax evasion complaint vs. Alice Guo

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Wednesday filed a tax evasion complaint against dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In an interview following the filing, BIR Commissioner Romeo “Jun” Lumagui said that Guo failed to pay P500,000 in taxes.

“Ito ay may kinalaman doon sa Baofu na corporation dahil kasi nakikita natin na sinabi niya na binenta daw niya ang shares niya dito sa korporasyon na ito,” Lumagui said in an interview.

(This is related to the Baofu corporation because we found that she said she was selling shares of the corporation.)

“At nakita natin din na hindi bayad ang buwis patungkol dito sa pagtratransfer ng shares niya na ito. Kaya malinaw na malinaw na may kasong tax evasion itong transaction na ito,” he added.

(And we saw that the taxes were not paid for the transfer of the shares. It’s clear that there was tax evasion in this case.) 

LOOK: BIR files a tax evasion complaint against dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and others before the Department of Justice @gmanews @gmanewsbreaking pic.twitter.com/8MnxRNa6ht

— Joahna Lei Casilao (@joahnacasilao) August 14, 2024

The other respondents are Jack Uy, the individual Guo supposedly sold shares to, and Rachelle Joan Carreon, the Corporate Secretary of the Baofu Land Development Inc.

They will face charges under Section 254 (attempt to evade or defeat tax), Section 255 (failure to file CGT and DST returns), and Section 25 (failure to file/supply certain information) under the National Internal Revenue Code.

In a message to reporters, Atty. Stephen David, Guo’s legal counsel, said they will answer once they have received a copy of the complaint.

Meanwhile, Lumagui said that if found guilty, the respondents may face imprisonment.

“Mabigat din ang parusa laban sa corporate secretary na hindi tinignan na bayad ang buwis. Kasi nasa batas yan na bago ka mag transfer ng shares sa corporate books at mag report sa SEC ay dapat makita muna na bayad ang buwis,” he said.

(There may also be penalties imposed on the corporate secretary because she didn’t check whether the taxes were paid. It’s stated under the law that before you can transfer shares to corporate books and before you can report to the SEC, you must first see that taxes have been paid.)

On Tuesday, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Guo from service for grave misconduct with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits as well as perpetual disqualification from public office.

It found that Guo “remained to be the real, true, and actual President of Baofu” and stood to benefit from the continued operations of the raided POGO hub in her locality when she started to discharge her duties as mayor.

The Ombudsman also suspended Bamban Vice Mayor Leonardo Anunciacion. Bamban Business Permit and Licensing Office officer Edwin Camp, and 10 other local officials for three months for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.

Guo is also facing a  human trafficking complaint in relation to the raided POGO hub before the Department of Justice. She was referred to as “a.k.a Guo Hua Ping” in the complaint.

The National Bureau of Investigation has confirmed that Guo and Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping have the same fingerprints.

A petition seeking to remove Alice Guo from office was also filed before a Manila court.

Other complaints

Asked how the BIR complaint will affect the human trafficking complaint and the quo warranto petition, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said that this will make things harder for Guo.

“Well, pagka madagdagan ang kaso, mas mahirap ang buhay, diba? Ganon lang naman ‘yun eh,” Remulla said in a press briefing.

(More cases will make life harder, that's all it is.)

Remulla also said that the complaints against Guo are “interrelated.”

“It will be the job of the law enforcement agencies to connect everything so that it will become one whole narrative that is connected when the cases are filed,” he said.

“Kasi the cases are multi-dimensional but definitely there is a narrative there that will have to come out in the end,” he added.

Meanwhile, Justice Undersecretary Nicky Ty said the DOJ no longer filed a hold departure order against Guo, which will prevent her from leaving the country.

"We just settled for the ILBO (Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order) and at the same time there's a standing warrant of arrest for Mayor Alice Guo," Ty said, referring to the arrest order of the Senate.

--VAL, GMA Integrated News