The Office of the Quezon City Prosecutor has endorsed the filing of a tax-related case against award-winning dramatic actor John Lloyd Cruz.

Cruz allegedly failed to appear before the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on June 15, 2007, when he was ordered by the court through an issued subpoena to turn over his accounting records and other account documents.

A second request appearance was then scheduled on July 10, 2007 at the tax bureau's Chief of Legal Division office but the actor once again ignored the court order.

John Lloyd's no-show apparently prompted the filing of the case. "His failure to appear and bring the records as demanded by the subpoena consummated the offense charged," the resolution signed by 2^nd Assistant City Prosecutor Rogelio Velasco stated.

The National Internal Revenue Code of the Philippines, otherwise known as the Tax Reform Act of 1997, Sections 5 and 14 states the right of the commissioner to "examine any book, paper, record, or other data which may be relevant or material to such inquiry."

It also mentions the power of the tax bureau to "administer oaths and take testimony" from subjects and individuals under question or investigation.

NOT TAX EVASION CASE. John Lloy'd legal counsel, Atty. Marc Perez, clarified that the case filed against the actor is not "tax evasion" as insinuated when the news first came out.

"The case involves an alleged non-compliance with the subpoena issued by the B.I.R-A subpoena which is invalid and for which John Lloyd had no knowledge of," read the e-mail letter sent to PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) this afternoon, May 6.

"This case had been previously dismissed by the prosecutor's office only to be surprisingly reversed when B.I.R. filed its Motion For Reconsideration. We are confident this case will be dismissed," the letter added.