THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed on Friday, July 24, 2026, criminal complaints against two officials of Sunwest Inc., which is among the top 15 construction firms that bagged 20 percent or P100 billion worth of flood control projects in the country from 2022 to 2025.
Tax evasion complaints were filed before the Department of Justice against Sunwest Inc. president Aderma Angelie Descarga Alcazar, and Treasurer Cesar Zacarias Buenaventura involving an estimated P22.71 billion deficiency income tax liability.
The bureau said it found “substantial underdeclaration” of income totaling P6.29 billion for taxable years 2019 to 2024 after comparing project payments reported by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Isumbong Mo sa Pangulo platform with the amounts declared in the company's ITRs.
“The complaints are based on the BIR's findings that the company willfully underdeclared its income, claimed unsubstantiated purchases and expenses, and improperly claimed creditable withholding tax (CWT) credits in its Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for taxable years 2019 to 2024, resulting in substantial deficiency income tax liabilities,” the BIR said.
“The bureau found sufficient basis to charge the corporation and its responsible corporate officers with violations of Sections 254 and 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended, under the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) Program,” it added.
Sunwest is reportedly co-founded by former Ako-Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)