Senate panel probing pandemic fund mess tells Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to form a special audit task force to conduct investigtion vs Pharmally officials.

On Thursday, October 28, during the 13th hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee, panel chair Minority Leader Frank Drilon said the Philippine government is potentially entitled to collect some P7.5 billion worth of income taxes from the P42-billion pandemic supply contracts awarded by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) in 2020. 

The anti-graft body is investigating allegedly anomalous pandemic deals by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Drilon said the BIR tax probe should zero in on officials of the controversial Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation and Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group – the two biggest pandemic contractors –to establish if they paid the right taxes.