The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) ordered to conduct tax audits on Vice President Sara Duterte, her husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, and nine other related businesses.

On Tuesday, April 28, the agency ordered the issuance of Letters of Authority (LOAs) to conduct the audit investigation on the said individuals and nine businesses. This follows the Bureau’s decision that probable cause exists to warrant a formal probe. With this, its revenue officers assigned to each case are permitted to “examine the taxpayer’s books of accounts and other accounting records.”

According to the BIR, the businesses subject to audit include:

• Carpio Lawyers (Formerly Carpio & Duterte Lawyers

• Zelta Matiem Salon

• City Hall King Chow Foods Corporation

• Davao Bounty Times Foods Corporation

• Madayaw Fisheries Inc.

• Davao Emerging Taipans Corporation

• Amianan Shores, Inc.

• Cale88 Foods Corporation

• Geometry Security and Investigation Agency, Inc.

“The end objective of this lawful exercise is to collect the correct taxes due to the government. This will be a rules-based approach in determining the truth. Rights will be accorded to the audited entities. This will be fully compliant with all Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) protocols, the primary enforcement program of the Bureau for tax evasion and tax fraud,” the BIR said in a press release.

The BIR’s order to issue LOAs was based primarily on third-party information, including those gathered from publicly available and official sources under Section 5 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC). The Office of the Ombudsman’s testimony regarding the vice president’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), including reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC)—which were disclosed during the House Committee on Justice’s impeachment proceedings—was also taken into account.

However, the BIR clarified that a LOA is considered a legal instrument to initiate formal tax audits of any taxpayer and is not a conclusion of liability.

“Accountability begins with the consistent application of the law. Where there is a basis to investigate, the BIR will do so. And if evidence of tax violations exists, it is our duty to pursue the appropriate civil, administrative, or criminal remedies,” Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said.