MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) sent a written demand to the Marcos family in December 2021 to pay their estate taxes liability worth P203 billion.
BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay made the confirmation in a response to a letter sent to them by Ernest Ramel, who is the chairman of presidential candidate and Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso’s party Aksyon Demokratiko.
“The BIR did send a written demand to the Marcos heirs on December 02, 2021 regarding their tax liabilities,” Dulay said in a letter dated March 14, but was only furnished to the media by Ramel on Wednesday.
INQUIRER.net has reached out to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ spokesperson Vic Rodriguez for comment but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.
It can be recalled that Ramel asked the BIR to demand the Marcos family to pay their tax liabilities estimated to be worth P203.819 billion.
In response to this, however, Rodriguez said that the estimated P200 billion estate tax of the Marcos family remains unsettled since the properties linked to the case are still under litigation, noting that even BIR and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) “have arrived at an agreement for the BIR to wait for the decision on the said case before any collection.”
Rodriguez’s statement was also questioned by Ramel, who wrote PCGG chairman John Agbayani to verify the claim of Rodriguez that the PCGG and BIR reached an agreement.
READ: Isko Moreno’s camp to PCGG: Is there a deal on unpaid P203B estate tax of Marcoses?
If there was indeed an agreement, Ramel said Agbayani should disclose the details since the issue is a “matter of public interest.” Otherwise, Ramel added, “this is another proof that the camp of Marcos Jr. has again lied as they always do in so many issues about their family, including their ill-gotten wealth.”
For his part, Domagoso said he is happy that BIR demanded the Marcos family to pay their estate taxes.
“I’m very happy that Commissioner Dulay wrote them a demand letter for them to pay. Sana makuha natin (I hope we could get their payment,) he said in an ambush interview in Silay City, Negros Occidental.
If elected, Domagoso also vowed that he will make sure that the P203-B Marcos tax liability will be collected by his administration.