Oil firm says P5-B tax case ‘malicious’

MANILA, Philippines—Publicly listed firm Phoenix Petroleum Philippines has dismissed as “malicious” and an “attack on its integrity” the P5-billion smuggling case filed against it by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Tuesday, Phoenix noted that proof of its seal of good governance and trustworthiness was the investment made by the Social Security System, which acquired close to 10 percent of the oil firm’s outstanding shares.

“As a publicly listed company, Phoenix adheres to best corporate practices and places utmost importance in maintaining its integrity and transparency. We have worked hard for many years to build the company’s reputation and it would be inconceivable for us to risk all that we have gained through the participation in illicit activities,” the company stressed.

The oil firm also pointed out that its books have always remained open for inspection and have even consistently passed the audit by Punongbayan & Araullo, one of the top auditing firms in the country.

It also cited the recently concluded due diligence study conducted by the International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank group, for a convertible debt issue transaction.

IFC is considering to finance up to $10 million or roughly P450 million of Phoenix Petroleum’s planned investment program over the next two years.

“While we have yet to receive the formal notice and complaint, the company would like to categorically deny any wrongdoing and assure our shareholders, partners, bankers and investors that we will defend this malicious charge and attack on our integrity,” the oil company said.

Last week, the BOC filed a P5-billion smuggling case against Phoenix Petroleum for alleged violations of various tariff and customs code. These included the non-payment of excise and value-added taxes, and non-submission of import documents such as invoices and bills of lading.