Lacson: BIR should disclose demand letter for Marcos family's unpaid estate taxes

SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) should disclose the demand letter it sent to the Marcos family, which seeks the payment of more than P200 billion in unpaid estate taxes, presidential candidate and Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.

The lawmaker made the remark when asked about the BIR's denial of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for a copy of the demand letter sent to the Marcos heirs in relation to their unsettled estate tax as ordered by the Supreme Court.

"Yes, [it should be disclosed] kasi national interest 'yon e imagine 203 billion pesos, if it's really the correct figure, that could change the lives of so many Filipinos," Lacson said in a press conference here.

"Freedom of Information, para saan pa na mayroong tayong Freedom of Information kung iwi-withhold ang information na public record kasi public interest 'yan," he added.

On April 1, GMA News Online lodged an FOI request after Senator Imee Marcos, the daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and sister of presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos, said her mother Imelda and her lawyers have yet to receive a demand letter for the unpaid estate tax, which court records showed was initially set at P23 billion but has reportedly ballooned to P203 billion over the decades.

The BIR has earlier said it sent a written demand to the Marcoses regarding their tax liabilities on December 2, 2021.

The Department of Finance has also said that the taxman continues to demand that the Marcoses settle their estate tax debt.

An entry of judgment from the SC showed that the assessment of multi-billion estate taxes became final and executory in 1999.

It was the party of presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno who first raised the issue of the Marcos family’s estate taxes.

Sought for comment, Moreno insisted that the law should be followed.

“Sabi ko nga sa inyo, basta nasa batas, dapat gawin, dapat sundin,” Moreno said in an ambush interview in Angono, Rizal.

(As I already stated, the law should be followed.) —with a report from Joahna Lei Casilao/AOL/VBL, GMA News