The Senate Blue Ribbon committee on Thursday October 28 asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to create a Task Force to investigate a potential P7.56 billion in income taxes due from suppliers of P42 billion worth of COVID 19-related medical supplies through contracts given by the Procurement System Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

This came after the Senate committee chaired by Senator Richard J. Gordon approved a motion of Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon who wanted the BIR to check the suppliers’ internal tax revenue (ITR) documents and compute how much they should really pay on the alleged ‘’premeditated plunder’’ at PS DBM.

The money given out by PS-DBM to the suppliers came from the P42 billion COVID-19 response funds of the Department of Health (DOH).

Senators had wondered aloud who could have ordered the DOH to transfer its P42 billion COVID-19 response funds to PS-DBM to buy the medical supplies since DOH has its own army of competent officials to buy the medical supplies.

Gordon, after dishing out his plate of diatribes against President Duterte at the opening of his committee hearing, said the committee hearing would continue and would not leave a stone unturned.

The Drilon motion to require the BIR to form a task force was seconded by opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, a presidential aspirant, said the Drilon motion was correct even as Gordon urged the BIR to act with urgency.

The Gordon committee also decided to allow documents related to the suppliers as supplied by the bIR should now be made public.

These include documents refer to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, Linconn Ong, Rose Nono Lim and Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Import and Export Trading Co, Inc., Drilon said.

Drilon said Xuzhou did not pay even one peso in income taxes from the P2.2 billion contract it got from Lloyd Christopher Lao, then the PS-DBM chief.

He earlier said that Xuzhou, although a Chinese government-owned corporation, should pay taxes when did business in the country.

Pharmally, on the other hand, claimed a tax credit of P96,089,293 and asked that it be refunded with P589 based on its 2020 ITR.

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee on Thursday October 28 asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to create a Task Force to investigate a potential P7.56 billion in income taxes due from suppliers of P42 billion worth of COVID 19-related medical supplies through contracts given by the Procurement System Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

This came after the Senate committee chaired by Senator Richard J. Gordon approved a motion of Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon who wanted the BIR to check the suppliers’ internal tax revenue (ITR) documents and compute how much they should really pay on the alleged ‘’premeditated plunder’’ at PS DBM.

The money given out by PS-DBM to the suppliers came from the P42 billion COVID-19 response funds of the Department of Health (DOH).

Senators had wondered aloud who could have ordered the DOH to transfer its P42 billion COVID-19 response funds to PS-DBM to buy the medical supplies since DOH has its own army of competent officials to buy the medical supplies.

Gordon, after dishing out his plate of diatribes against President Duterte at the opening of his committee hearing, said the committee hearing would continue and would not leave a stone unturned.

The Drilon motion to require the BIR to form a task force was seconded by opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, a presidential aspirant, said the Drilon motion was correct even as Gordon urged the BIR to act with urgency.

The Gordon committee also decided to allow documents related to the suppliers as submiited by the BIR should now be made public.

These include documents refer to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, Linconn Ong, Rose Nono Lim and Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Import and Export Trading Co, Inc., Drilon said.

Drilon said Xuzhou did not pay even one peso in income taxes from the P2.2 billion contract it got from Lloyd Christopher Lao, then the PS-DBM chief.

He earlier said that Xuzhou, although a Chinese government-owned corporation, should pay taxes when did business in the country.

Pharmally that had bagged P10.4 billion of contracts from PS-DBM claimed a tax credit of P96,089, 293 and asked that it be refunded with P589,168 based on its 2020 ITR.

Gordon asked the Bureau of Customs and Land Transportation Office (LTO) to check the luxury cars of Mohit Dargani and his younger sister, Twinkle, and Linconn Ong whether the Lamborghinis and Porches they own were bought from authorized dealers or were smuggled. Twinkle is the Pharmally president while Mohit is the corporate secretary. Ong is the corporation director.

Twinkle owns the Lamborghini given her by her brother, Mohit.

In his presentation after his motion was adopted, Drilon said Mohit paid P97,450 in income taxes 2019 and P29,187 in 2020.

Ong’s ITRs are not readable, he pointed out.

Lao’s 2020 ITR is not one file with BIR while his 2018 on line ITR cannot be read.

Michael Yang, a millionaire and a former economic adviser to President Duterte, has no ITR from 2014 to 2017.

In 2018, Yang paid P7,600 in income taxes in 2018 while his 2019 and 2020 ITRs are ‘’not readable.’’

Ong is at present at the Senate Office of the Sergeant at Arms for his refusal to answer senators’ questions and to submit corporate documents.

Drilon, a former Senate President and former Justice secretary, said the investigating government agencies should furnish the committee of their findings so that legislation could be drafted it needed.