Verbal agreement between BIR, PCGG not meant to delay collection of Marcoses' tax liability – Carpio

The verbal agreement between the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) was not intended to delay the collection of estate taxes owed by the Marcos family, retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said Tuesday.

Lawyer Vic Rodriguez, spokesperson for presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., said on March 3 that the pieces of property, which were the subject of the tax issue, were still under litigation.

As a result, the BIR and the PCGG had agreed to wait for the decision on the tax issue "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," Rodriguez said.

However, Carpio said that the Marcoses “cannot invoke the agreement in their favor” since this was only between the two government agencies.

“Besides, the reason for the agreement is to collect the estate tax from Marcos assets that are not yet in custodia legis or in the custody of the court so as to maximize the collection of the government,” he added.

He said that the BIR and PCGG also did not question the basis of the computation of the estate tax and its amount, which they had acknowledged as "final, executory, and inappealable."

“Thus, the Marcoses cannot use this verbal agreement between two government agencies as excuse for not paying the estate tax immediately,” Carpio said.

“The verbal agreement was never intended in any way to delay or suspend the collection of the estate tax which has now ballooned to over P203 billion due to interests,” he added.

The PCGG refuted Rodriguez's claim after it was asked by the party of presidential hopeful Isko Moreno to confirm the lawyer's statement. 

In a letter addressed to Aksyon Demokratiko party chairman Ernest Ramel, the PCGG said that while it is true that there was a “verbal understanding” between the PCGG and the BIR in 2003, it may not be accurate to state that the agreement was to “determine with accuracy the fair and just tax base to be to be used in computing estate taxes if any.”

“Because as early as 1993, BIR already executed its final assessment when it levied and sold 11 real properties in Tacloban City, and as early as 1997, the judgment on the tax case had become final and executory,” the PCGG said.

Aksyon said the BIR, under Commissioner Caesar Dulay, had not yet replied to its query about whether they had sent written demands to the Marcos family to settle their tax liability. 

Rodriguez, meanwhile, slammed Moreno's party's actions as "hateful and negative campaigning."— VBL, GMA News