Marcos: Tax evaders will be held 'accountable'

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. vowed Tuesday that his administration is committed to enforcing accountability for tax evaders.

In a speech, Marcos said he would hold accountable those individuals who will continue to circumvent the country's tax system.

"I have said this before: We will hold those who continue to circumvent our system accountable," Marcos said during the 2025 Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) National Tax Campaign Kickoff at the Philippine International Convention Center.

"And I say this with hope and with sternness—hope that we all see the value in contributing to our country and that the law will deal sternly against those who exploit the system unfairly," he added.

The President made a commitment to the public that the government would monitor the expenditures to protect public funds.

The BIR event was done in observance of the National Tax Awareness Month. Marcos also stressed that honest tax contributions could "fuel something greater than individual interests."

Every peso collected, Marcos said, is rightfully allocated to programs that benefit the people.

Reminder to BIR

Meanwhile, the President called on the BIR to guarantee that its collection would be used for programs that will serve the general public.

''To the BIR, your mandate is clear—be watchful, be guardians of a system that ensures that every peso that is collected is channeled into programs that serve our people,'' Marcos said in his speech.

The President assured the public that fulfilling their duty of paying taxes would help in ensuring a progressive nation. He added that ''every honest contribution fuels something far more significant than just ourselves.''

''Sa ating mga kababayan, sa bawat buwis na ating tapat na binabayaran, tayo ay hindi lamang nag-aambag sa kaban ng bayan, tayo rin ay nagtatayo ng isang maunlad na Pilipinas,'' Marcos said.

(To our countrymen, with every tax that we pay, we are not just contributing to our country's revenues but we are also building a progressive Philippines.)

According to Marcos, the BIR has implemented several efforts to strengthen its collections, including the widening of the tax base through simplified key processes and documentary requirements, as well as the digitalization of the tax system.

The efforts have resulted in more than 74,000 new establishments being registered in the last year, totaling close to 5.7 million registered business taxpayers, Marcos said.

He said the BIR has also proactively enforced compliance when it comes to the country's tax laws.

More than 307,000 establishments were visited and verified by the BIR, resulting in P257 million recovered through such compliance checks, the President said.

The BIR collected over P2.85 trillion in 2024, surpassing its P2.52 trillion record in 2023. — VDV, GMA Integrated News