The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed a criminal case with the Department of Justice against Alice Leal Guo for alleged tax evasion and failure to file Annual Income Tax Returns for taxable years 2019 to 2023, involving an estimated income tax deficiency of more than P1.008 billion, inclusive of surcharges and interest.
The Guo case is the largest of the five criminal tax cases filed by the BIR on June 11, 2026, which involve an aggregate estimated tax deficiency of more than P1.46 billion.
The investigation was prompted by Guo’s testimony during a May 22, 2024, Senate hearing concerning a raid on a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) compound in Bamban, Tarlac, during which she admitted to owning various real properties, vehicles, and interests in several corporations.
Subsequent investigation by the BIR identified significant assets, expenditures, and financial transactions associated with Guo, including real properties, motor vehicles, a helicopter, bank transactions, shares of stock, and other acquisitions. BIR records likewise showed that Guo failed to file Annual Income Tax Returns for five consecutive years despite substantial documented expenditures, acquisitions, and financial transactions during the same period.
Using the expenditure method to reconstruct income, the BIR evaluated the available records and found that the submitted documents were insufficient to explain the magnitude of the expenditures and transactions identified during the investigation. The Bureau concluded that Guo had undeclared income and failed to pay the corresponding income taxes due to the government.
Guo is charged under Section 254 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended, for Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax, and under Section 255 for Failure to File Return and Pay Tax.
The BIR also filed criminal charges against Clint Anthony A. Vinco, Zestar Food Corporation, represented by its President, Yiling Huang, and Treasurer, Xiazhen Guo, and nine other respondents for unlawful possession of illicit cigarettes subject to excise tax.
The case stemmed from an enforcement operation conducted in Belison, Antique, where three vehicles were intercepted and found transporting 574,980 packs of cigarettes covering several locally manufactured and imported brands, none of which bore the required Internal Revenue Stamps. The estimated excise tax deficiency amounts to more than P418.38 million, inclusive of increments, for the taxable year 2025.
The respondents are charged under Section 263 (Unlawful Possession or Removal of Articles Subject to Excise Tax Without Payment) and Section 254 (Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax) of the NIRC, carrying potential imprisonment of up to 12 years and fines of up to P20 million.
Three other criminal charges were likewise filed against Bellagio Phil. Amusement Inc. (BELLAGIO), together with its President Roberto Capambe Reyes and Treasurer Gerardo Capambi Reyes, for willful failure to pay assessed taxes for the taxable year 2019 amounting to more than P32.27 million.
The BIR also charged AJAF Limsart Corp. (AJAF), together with its President Ferdinand Grande Trasmil and Treasurer Aileen Libre Trasmil, for willful failure to pay assessed taxes for the taxable year 2019 amounting to more than P5.95 million.
Another criminal case was filed against Joana Marie Chan Saludaga for failure to pay assessed taxes covering the taxable year 2017, amounting to more than P3.58 million.
In the Bellagio, AJAF, and Saludaga cases, the BIR said the tax assessments had already become final, executory, and demandable after the respondents failed to settle their tax liabilities despite notices and demands for payment. The respondents are charged under Section 255 of the NIRC for willful failure to pay taxes.
“The BIR will continue to pursue the filing and prosecution of cases against tax evaders, illicit traders, and delinquent taxpayers. These cases are about accountability and fairness, holding violators answerable under the law, while protecting the millions of taxpayers and businesses who comply and pay the correct taxes due,” Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said.
In line with the Revenue Collection and Base Protection pillar of the BIR DARES reform program, these criminal case filings form part of the Bureau’s continuing implementation of the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) Program. These five new filings add to the 135 RATE cases filed by the BIR before the Department of Justice during the first five months of 2026.
