The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has placed under discreet lifestyle check Guia Gomez Castro, a barangay chairwoman of Sampaloc, Manila and tagged as “drug queen” for allegedly selling illegal drugs seized by the so-called “ninja cops” during their operations, it was disclosed Tuesday.
Revenue officials who declined to be named said tax fraud investigators have been instructed to use the net worth method of investigation in probing the untaxed wealth of Ms. Castro.
Basically, the audit consists of matching the taxpayer’s declared income with purchases and acquisitions which cannot be supported with documents are considered hidden wealth.
For a start, tax probers were instructed to look into Ms. Castro’s Statement of Asset Liabilities and Networth (SALN) which financial statement is required to be submitted annually by every government official and employe.
Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Aaron Aquino claimed Ms. Castro earned more than P1 billion in the illegal drugs trade the past years.
It was alleged that she owned one block of multi-story building in Sampaloc, Manila and regularly gifted her friends with expensive sports utility vehicles on certain occasions like birthday and Christmas.
It was also reported that she owns properties in the United States, Australia and one of her children studying in the US.
Revenue officials said they are still trying to establish whether her assets including bank deposits and the residential-commercial building in Sampaloc are under her name.
Ms. Castro and her family reportedly fled to the United States after her name surfaced during the Senate inquiry on the involvement of “ninja cops” in the lucrative racket of selling drugs they seized during legitimate operations.
The United States government had already cancelled her visa upon the request the Department of Justice which requested her extradition to face various charges of which the courts had already issued arrest warrants. (Jun Ramirez)
