Isko’s party questions PCGG over Marcoses’ P203-billion estate tax debt

The party of presidential candidate Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno has now turned to the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to inquire about a supposed “agreement” with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) regarding the tax liability of the Marcos family amounting to P203.819 billion.

In his letter to PCGG chairman John Agbayani dated March 9, Aksyon Demokratiko chairman Ernest Ramel Jr. urged him to answer by “yes or no” if there is truth to the claim by Marcos' spokesperson Victor Rodriguez that the PCGG has coordinated with the BIR regarding the Marcos family's billions in debt, which remains unpaid.

Rodriguez last week said the pieces of property which were the subject of the tax case were still under litigation.

“In fact, even the Bureau of Internal Revenue (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 enforcement activities and to establish ownership of the subject properties with certainty to determine with accuracy the fair and just tax base to be used in computing estate taxes, if any,” he said.

“The question is very simple, answerable by ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Did the PCGG and BIR have an agreement regarding the P203-Billion Marcos debt to the Filipino people?” Ramel asked Agbayani.

Ramel then pointed out that if the answer is affirmative, then the PCGG chief has to explain and disclose the details of such an agreement as it is a “matter of public interest.” 

If not, he stressed that it would be “another proof” that Marcos’ camp “lied as they always do in so many issues about their family, including their ill-gotten wealth.”

GMA News Online has reached out to the PCGG for comment.

Ramel on Monday also wrote to BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay, asking if he demanded anew that the Marcos family pay their tax liability, otherwise they “prescribe and become uncollectible.”

Rodriguez said that Moreno’s camp should address all their queries to the BIR.

Ramel had earlier dared the camp of Marcos to pay the estate tax, saying failure to pay the tax liability despite having been ordered by the Supreme Court is an “abuse of power, disregard for the law, and lack of respect for the people.”

Moreno, on the other hand, proposed to use the money retrieved from the Marcoses’ estate tax debt for aid, if he wins the presidential race.

The High Court in 1997 denied the petition filed by Marcos Jr. to reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA).

In 1994, the CA ruled that “the deficiency assessments for estate and income tax made upon the petitioner and the estate of the deceased President Marcos have already become final and unappealable, and may thus be enforced by the summary remedy of levying upon the properties” of the late dictator. — BM, GMA News