BIR hits Sunwest with PHP 22.71 billion tax evasion raps

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed criminal tax evasion complaints Friday before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Sunwest Inc. and two of its top executives over an estimated PHP 22.71 billion in deficiency income tax liabilities.

The complaints name Sunwest president Aderma Angelie Descarga Alcazar and treasurer Cesar Zacarias Buenaventura as respondents, alongside the corporation.

The BIR said the complaints stem from findings that the construction firm willfully underdeclared its income, claimed unsupported purchases and expenses, and improperly claimed creditable withholding tax credits in its income tax returns for taxable years 2019 to 2024.

The bureau said the evidence supports criminal charges against the company and its responsible corporate officers for alleged violations of Sections 254 and 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, under its Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) Program.

In its preliminary investigation, the BIR National Investigation Division found substantial underdeclaration of income after comparing project payments reported by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and information obtained through the Isumbong Mo sa Pangulo platform with the amounts declared in the company’s returns.

The findings prompted the issuance of a Letter of Authority covering an examination of the company’s internal revenue tax liabilities for taxable years 2019 to 2024.

“The BIR examined the tax compliance of the entities concerned. When our investigation establishes willful violations of the National Internal Revenue Code, we will not hesitate to file the appropriate criminal cases against the corporation and its responsible officers,” BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said.

The BIR said it issued a Subpoena Duces Tecum on Feb. 5, 2026, directing the company to produce its books of accounts, accounting records, and supporting documents.

The bureau said it applied the Best Evidence Obtainable Rule in determining the company’s tax liabilities after the respondents failed to fully comply.

The investigation uncovered PHP 6.29 billion in undeclared income from 2019 to 2024 after reconciling company records with third-party information obtained from the DPWH, National Power Corp., and the Philippine Ports Authority, the BIR said.

The bureau also disallowed PHP 36.63 billion in purchases and PHP 3.65 billion in expenses after finding insufficient documentary support for the claims.

It rejected a further PHP 291.12 million in unsupported creditable withholding tax credits.

The BIR said the findings resulted in a total deficiency income tax assessment of PHP 22.71 billion, including surcharges, interest, and compromise penalties.

The filing comes as Sunwest remains under public scrutiny over its government infrastructure contracts.

Former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, who chaired the House committee on appropriations and founded Sunwest, is among the respondents in separate criminal and administrative complaints filed before the Office of the Ombudsman over alleged violations of environmental, procurement, anti-graft, and land laws involving at least five infrastructure projects in Antique.

The Ombudsman has maintained that Co remains the beneficial owner of Sunwest despite divesting from the firm in 2019, a claim Co has repeatedly denied.

Data from the DPWH showed that Sunwest implemented 66 infrastructure projects in Western Visayas from 2016 to 2025 with a combined contract cost of PHP 4.05 billion.

Of the total, 65 projects were undertaken by the DPWH Antique District Engineering Office, while one was implemented by the DPWH Regional Office 6.

Most of the projects involved road infrastructure, followed by water supply systems.

Sunwest was also the contractor in the first flood control case to reach the Sandiganbayan, a graft and malversation complaint filed in November 2025 over a PHP 289.5 million road dike in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro that investigators found substandard.

Co left the Philippines in July 2025, was declared a fugitive, and was briefly detained in Prague in April 2026 before moving on to France, where he is reported to be seeking asylum.

The Sandiganbayan archived his graft case earlier this month after he remained at large for more than six months following the issuance of an arrest warrant.

The RATE Program is the BIR flagship enforcement initiative for prosecuting individuals and corporations suspected of tax evasion, intended to improve compliance and deter fraud.