Tax court orders arrest of billionaire trader

MANILA, Philippines—The Court of Tax Appeals has ordered the arrest of billionaire businessman Macario Gaw Jr., who allegedly defrauded the government some P5.5 billion in income tax from 2007 to 2008, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima disclosed Monday.

According to De Lima, the tax suit filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue against Gaw, owner and president of Mega Packaging Corp., was the biggest tax case that the government had filed against a taxpayer.

“I instructed the NPS (National Prosecution Service) to get a copy of the arrest warrant and give it to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) for implementation,” De Lima said in a text message.