Isko Moreno attacks Marcos over unpaid estate taxes, other candidates follow suit

His fellow presidential candidates Vice President Leni Robredo, Senator Manny Pacquiao, Senator Panfilo Lacson, and labor leader Leody De Guzman all agreed to hold the Marcos family accountable. Marcos has declined to attend most presidential debates, including this one, saying that the questions raised are mostly repetitive.

Domagoso pivoted to this topic during the debate segment where moderator Luchi Cruz-Valdez of TV5 asked the candidates about what they learned during the campaign which strengthened their plans for the Filipinos. Domagoso pointed out that he will run after the Marcos family for their unpaid estate taxes and use the money to provide assistance to Filipinos in need like drivers and farmers.

Collecting the money, he added, will also give his administration the flexibility to temporarily suspend the levy of excise tax on fuel. His view was swiftly seconded by De Guzman, Lacson, and Robredo.

Last March 16, Domagoso’s party Aksyon Demokratiko revealed to the media that their camp has received confirmation from the BIR and the Presidential Commission on Good Government that the Marcos family has unsettled tax liabilities amounting to P23 billion during the 1990s.

In 1997, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Marcos, Jr. vs. Court of Appeals, et. al. (G.R. 120880) where it said that “the assessment of estate tax (against the Marcoses) had already become final and unappealable.” It further explained that the determinations and assessments made by the BIR are “presumed correct and made in good faith” and that “the taxpayer has the duty of proving otherwise.”

It concluded: “In the absence of proof of any irregularities in the performance of official duties, an assessment will not be disturbed.” Marcos’ spokesperson Vic Rodriguez, in response, merely claimed that the Manila mayor is engaging in negative campaigning.