Senatorial candidate JV Ejercito said on Monday that presidential challenger Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, or BBM, should be given due process in his estate tax case.
The tax liability, which has reportedly risen to P203 billion, “must be proven beyond reasonable doubt,” Ejercito added.
“I think we have to be a government of laws. If we find sufficient evidence, he has to pay… It’s political season kasi, I don’t really like to ride on issues until there’s really enough evidence to really prove that,” he said in an ANC interview.
Ejercito added the administration “has to really improve its legal team because through the years, they’ve been losing their cases to the Marcoses.”
“In fairness to BBM (Marcos), I think he needs to be given due process also just like any other citizens,” he said.
Over the weekend, Marcos’ camp claimed that the tax obligation was still pending in court.
However, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio claimed that the high court’s 1997 judgment, which upheld a Court of Appeals decision on the P23 billion Marcos inheritance tax, was already final and executory.
According to Ejercito, BBM has requested Ejercito to join his party’s campaign rallies, who served in the Senate from 2013 to 2019.
BBM deserves due process in unpaid P203-B tax case – JV Ejercito
President Rodrigo Duterte endorsed Ejercito as the “first one” “last month,” according to Ejercito.
He also claimed that Duterte was entitled to due process in the case of alleged drug-related killings during his campaign.
In September of last year, the International Criminal Court approved a comprehensive investigation into potential crimes against humanity in the anti-narcotics campaign. However, due to the Philippine government’s request for a deferral, the investigation was put on hold in November 2021.
“If there’s enough evidence, we have to go through the process, he (Duterte) has to be given due process, he has to be able to defend himself,” JV Ejercito said.
“I think the President being a lawyer I think he can defend himself just in case the ICC will conduct its probe. As I said, I will always stick to us being a government of laws not of men.”
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