Phoenix Petroleum charged with defrauding government

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) of the Philippines filed charges of defrauding the government against Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, a local oil firm.  The charges, which were brought against the company under the Run after the Smugglers (RATS) program, stated that the company failed to pay the required excise and value-added taxes, in addition to failing to submit the required import documentation.  Angelito A. Alvares, Customs Commissioner, brought the case after the bureau discovered nine import entries which did not match with reports by a government-contracted surveyor.  Further investigation turned up Php459 million (US$10.6 million) in petroleum products in imports for which no import documents were filed.  According to the BoC, Phoenix Petroleum owes the government Php5.144 billion (US$119.6 million).  Phoenix Petroleum denies all charges, and said that the charges are unjust and arbitrary. (May 6, 2011)