(UPDATE) THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed on Thursday a criminal complaint for tax evasion against a flood control contractor over an alleged ghost project in Bulacan. BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said the complaint was filed before the Department of Justice against Mark Allan Arevalo, the single proprietor of Wawao Builders, for an alleged tax deficiency of at least P48 million. Mendoza said Arevalo was awarded a contract in 2024 for a river infrastructure protection or flood control project in Bulacan and received payment for the project, but no actual construction was undertaken. “He received the money, but no flood control project was actually made. It was a ghost project,” Mendoza said. Despite the absence of any completed work, Mendoza said Arevalo declared construction-related costs and operating expenses in his tax returns. The BIR found these deductions to be fictitious and nonexistent, forming the basis of the tax evasion complaint. Mendoza said the filing of the case was part of the BIR’s participation in the government’s campaign against corruption in public infrastructure projects, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to prioritize investigations involving infrastructure spending. He said the BIR focused first on alleged ghost projects because liability was easier to establish, noting that tax returns declaring project costs could be readily checked against the absence of any actual construction. However, Mendoza said the agency was not limiting its probe to ghost projects alone. He said projects that were completed but allegedly involved substandard work or inflated costs were also being investigated, as these could likewise constitute tax violations. The case will undergo preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice. Mendoza said the BIR had already filed the necessary complaint and would submit further pleadings if required, once respondents file their counter-affidavits. Mendoza said the case against Wawao Builders was already the third tax evasion complaint filed by the BIR involving infrastructure projects, bringing the aggregate alleged tax liability in these cases to nearly P9 billion. He added that at least four more cases were expected to be filed as investigations continued. He declined to identify which congressional district covered the Bulacan project, saying he was not certain. Mendoza also confirmed that the BIR was conducting ongoing investigations into politicians and local officials who may be linked to anomalies connected to the alleged ghost projects. “All personalities allegedly involved are under investigation,” Mendoza said, adding that the BIR was ensuring it had clear and sufficient basis before filing any additional cases.