Marcos says estate tax issue ‘all about politics’

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the move of his fellow presidential aspirants to “raise the matter” of the P203-billion estate tax a few weeks before the elections is politically motivated.

In a statement, lawyer Vic Rodriguez, chief of staff and spokesperson for Marcos, said the move to “misdirect” the people regarding the estate tax is “all about politics.”

“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,” Rodriguez said in the statement.

The camp of presidential aspirant Isko Moreno earlier got confirmation from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Presidential Commission on Good Government that the P203-billion debt could still be collected.

The BIR, in a letter, confirmed that they sent a written demand to the heirs of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos regarding their tax liabilities.

During the Commission on Elections-sponsored debate earlier in the month, presidential aspirants pushed for the Marcoses to pay the P203 billion tax, saying it could be given as aid to those in need.

Marcos said he would honor the invitation of President Duterte to Russian President Vladimir Putin to have a state visit to the Philippines if he wins this year’s elections.
“Why not? We have diplomatic relations in Moscow. We should continue to honor that agreement that we have with Russia and we must continue to, again, cultivate relationships that are beneficial to the country,” he said in an interview with the Apollo Quiboloy-led Sonshine Media Network International yesterday.

Duterte in 2020 invited Putin to the country, “as soon as circumstances allow.”