BIR sees conviction of ‘BGC Boys’ given 44 tax-related cases

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) believes that the so-called “BGC Boys” – or former Public Works and Highways (DPWH)–Bulacan engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza – will be convicted.

This optimism comes after the bureau cited the 44 tax-related criminal cases that are set to be filed against them over their alleged P1.68 billion combined tax liabilities.

The BIR’s position comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended the lodging of the 44 tax cases against the “BGC Boys,” or “Bulacan Group of Contractors,” based on their reported combined tax liabilities.

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In a Viber message to the INQUIRER on Friday, BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said they are looking forward to the day when the BGC Boys will face prosecution and will later on be found guilty.

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“We’re confident they will be convicted in the CTA (Court of Tax Appeals),” Mendoza said.

“We have proven that we have enough to prosecute this. The method BIR used is a tested and accepted method of reconstructing income and computing tax liabilities,” he pointed out.

READ: Witness reveals DPWH ‘in-house’ contractors

The BIR noted in a statement on Thursday that based on three separate resolutions, the DOJ found “probable cause” to charge Alcantara, Hernandez and Mendoza with tax evasion.

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The charges are based on Section 254 and related violations under Section 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code.

For Alcantara, the DOJ, through a resolution dated May 30, recommended the filing 18 criminal cases for taxable years 2022, 2023 and 2024, involving alleged total tax liabilities amounting to over P913 million.

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The bureau noted that its investigation found a “significant disparity between Alcantara’s income and his acquisitions” and that “no Income Tax Returns were filed for the covered taxable years.”

Meanwhile, through a resolution dated May 21, the justice department recommended the lodging of 10 criminal complaints against Hernandez, covering taxable years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, with alleged total tax liabilities of more than P593 million.

“Hernandez’s expenditures substantially exceeded his reported income for five consecutive years and established that no Income Tax Returns were filed for the covered taxable years,” the BIR said.

As for Mendoza, the DOJ, through a resolution dated March 26, recommended the filing of 16 criminal charges against Mendoza for taxable years 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, involving alleged income tax liabilities amounting to over P179 million.

The BIR said the investigation “found significant underdeclarations of income, constituting prima facie evidence of false or fraudulent returns under the Tax Code.”

The bureau also said the corresponding criminal information against the BGC Boys may already be filed before the Court of Tax Appeals, but it did not specify the date for the filing of the case.

Hernandez and Mendoza are currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail, along with Senator Bong Revilla, over malversation and graft cases involving a P92.8 million “ghost” flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.

READ: Hernandez, Mendoza, 2 others to join Revilla in Payatas jail

Alcantara, meanwhile, was dropped as a respondent in the flood control case after testifying and being placed under the Witness Protection Program. /apl

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