The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested two individuals who introduced themselves as Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) employees for allegedly attempting to extort money from a corporation in exchange for reducing supposed tax liabilities.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the suspects initially presented a letter of authority to assess the company, claiming it owed the government ₱36 million in taxes. He noted how the supposed obligation quickly dropped in suspicious stages.
“They lowered it to ₱6 million and later on it suddenly became ₱800,000,” Santiago said in Filipino during a press briefing.
He explained that the arrangement the suspects pushed for was even more alarming. “The agreement was that the government would only receive ₱200,000, while the remaining ₱600,000 would go to them,” Santiago added.
When asked if the suspects were legitimate BIR personnel, the NBI agent leading the case said both men did not dispute being officers of the agency. “As a matter of fact, the entrapment occurred at the BIR office,” the agent pointed out in Filipino.
