By Darryl John Esguerra | Philippine News Agency
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is still conducting lifestyle checks on government officials, over a month after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered the audit in response to alleged anomalies in flood control spending.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed on Tuesday that the bureau has started carrying out the President’s directive.
“Inutos na po sa BIR at ngayon po ay ongoing po ang ginagawa pong lifestyle check,” Castro told reporters in a Palace press briefing.
She said the Palace could not provide a timeline for when initial findings would be released.
Malacañang first announced the lifestyle audit order on Aug. 27, weeks after the President bared in his last State of the Nation Address the allegations of irregularities in flood control projects—among them splitting of contracts, bloated costing, contractor collusion, and ghost projects.
The move came alongside the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate public works spending and the activation of the Sumbong sa Pangulo complaints platform.
Castro said reports received through the website, now numbering over 19,000 entries, are being validated and forwarded to the ICI.
The Palace has yet to disclose how many officials are currently under financial scrutiny or whether contractors will also be included in the audit. (PNA)
