EDITORIAL - Tax probes

Not everyone is blessed with the tremendous luck of waking up to the sight of a Lexus LX450D, said to be worth P8.8 million, sitting in her garage. This was the story given to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee by Rose Nono Lin, stockholder of Pharmally Biological Inc., when quizzed about her assets.

Lin has denied any anomalies and says her company is not part of sister firm Pharmally Pharmaceuticals’ controversial contract with the government. She has said her husband is the one fond of luxury vehicles. Apart from the Lexus, senators say the Lins reportedly also own a Land Rover valued at P11.9 million, a 2020 Land Cruiser worth P4.8 million and a 2019 Toyota Alphard costing P3.9 million.

The Blue Ribbon committee chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon also learned that after Pharmally Pharmaceuticals bagged multibillion-peso contracts with the government last year to supply COVID personal protective equipment, company president Twinkle Dargani procured a Lamborghini Urus whose cost is placed at P25 million while her brother Mohit, the corporate secretary, got a Porsche 911 Turbo worth P8.5 million. Pharmally director Linconn Ong reportedly bought a Lexus RCF worth P5.9 million, a Porsche Cayenne VR6 whose price tag ranges from P6.35-P8.85 million and a Porsche Carrera 4S worth P13.5 million.

Yet the Bureau of Internal Revenue provided documents to the Senate showing that Twinkle Dargani paid taxes of only P1,000 last year; her brother Mohit paid P97,241. Senators said the company itself appeared not to have paid any tax and even claimed a refund. Lloyd Christopher Lao, who once headed the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management, and who is in hiding after being ordered arrested by the Senate, also did not file a tax return last year and in 2017.

With these details emerging, the BIR has initiated tax probes into Pharmally, its executives and government contractors involved in the supply of personal protective equipment. Tax probes can pin down slippery felons such as drug dealers, human traffickers, jueteng lords, smugglers and corrupt public officials. The Pharmally controversy should spur the BIR to intensify the use of its powers in going after more individuals and companies for possible involvement in illegal activities.