Lacson fears Marcoses' P203-B estate tax debt will grow to a trillion if uncollected

KALAWIT, Zamboanga del Norte—The Marcos heirs' P203-billion estate tax debt might reach a trillion if it will remain uncollected, presidential candidate and Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.

The lawmaker made the remark as he noted that the Supreme Court's assessment of Marcos' multi-billion estate taxes already became final and executory in 1999.

"Way to go...Nag-rule na ang Supreme Court (The Supreme Court has already ruled on the case). Nobody can claim otherwise with so many pronouncements to the contrary," Lacson told reporters in a press conference.

"Kaya dapat lang talagang singilin. Kung hindi lalaki pa ng lalaki lang. Baka umabot ng isang trilyon 'yan. Remember it started with P23 billion 'yun ang basic na estate tax na dapat bayaran. In the course of time nagkaroon ng surcharges, nagkaroon ng penalties, umabot na ng P203 billion," he added.

(So it is just right to collect the tax debts. If not, that might balloon to one trillion. Remember, it started with P23 billion, that is the basic estate tax that they need to pay. In the course of time, there were surcharges, penalties, and it reached P203 billion.)

He then backed the call of President Rodrigo Duterte for the Bureau of Internal Revenue to collect the Marcos family's tax debt, emphasizing that it would help in funding the government's programs.

"I fully support the call of the President na tawagin ang BIR to collect kasi P200 billion can do so many things para sa ating mga kababayan, para sa ating bansa (for our countrymen and the country). Ang laki ng utang natin sa gastos natin sa pandemic (We have a huge debt because of the pandemic). Well, P203 billion will help our countrymen a lot," he said.

Lawyer Vic Rodriguez, the spokesman for presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., has repeatedly said that the ownership of the properties which are subject of the estate tax had yet to be settled.

He claimed the issue was "all politics."

“It’s not a coincidence that rivals of presidential frontrunner Bongbong Marcos are raising this matter in unison a few weeks before the elections. Sadly, this is all about politics,” Rodriguez said.

“Our rivals are misdirecting everyone by claiming that the case has attained finality when the truth of the matter is, it is still pending in court and the ownership of the properties in litigation has yet to be settled,” he added.

Marcos identified the pending cases in his petition before the SC.

However, in its decision upholding the CA ruling on the estate tax assessment on the Marcoses, the SC said it was "at a loss how these cases are relevant to the matter at issue."

"The mere fact that the decedent has pending cases involving ill-gotten wealth does not affect the enforcement of tax assessments over the properties indubitably included in his estate," a portion of the SC decision read.

"The subject tax assessments having become final, executory, and enforceable, the same can no longer be contested by means of a disguised protest," it added.—AOL, GMA News