Marcos not a tax evader, says spokesman

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not evaded payment of P200 billion in estate tax as alleged by the camp of a rival candidate, his spokesman Vic Rodriguez claimed yesterday.

He explained that the case remains pending in court.

“For the enlightenment of Mr. Ramel, this case is hinged on a legal issue that has yet to attain finality since the government through the public prosecutors has filed a motion for reconsideration with the Sandiganbayan on the forfeiture proceedings on the very same properties that were made the tax base in the computation of the estate tax by the BIR thus, the properties subject of the estate tax case are still under litigation,” Rodriguez said, referring to Aksyon Demokratiko chairman Ernest Ramel.

He added that Ramel was just misinformed and irresponsible in accusing Marcos of non-payment of estate tax.

Rodriguez cited an agreement of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Presidential Commission on Good Government for the bureau “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.”

Ramel earlier called on the former senator to pay the estate tax said to be worth P200 billion, which the courts have said the Marcos family needed to pay.

The group said tax avoidance is an act of “abuse of power, disregard for the law, and lack of respect for the people,” even warning that such a character must not be elected as president.

Records showed that the Supreme Court in 1997 denied the petition filed by Marcos to reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals, which 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 strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Meanwhile, vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte promised to stop the imposition of lockdowns that lead to job losses, should she and Marcos win in the May 9 elections.

Duterte, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats chair, said these lockdowns resulted in having businesses closed often, which in turn leads to job losses. She promised to prioritize job creation programs. – Jose Rodel Clapano