Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III stated Tuesday that the proposed Senate investigation into the Marcos family’s estate tax issues is not politically driven and is of national interest.
According to the senator, the probe supports the law, and the public could gain from the Marcoses’ P203 billion estate tax liability.
“They ignored everything, now it’s P203 billion. Di ba tayo interesado doon as a nation? Ngayong marami nang naghihirap, naghahanap ng pondo, saan mangggaling ang ayuda? P100 billion ang hinahanap na ayuda, P203 billion ito,” Pimentel told ANC’s Headstart.
“Di rin naman insolvent ang estate na nagkakautang eh. It’s a matter of national interest made all the more interesting because the survey frontrunner belongs to the family who is inheriting the estate of the deceased Ferdinand Marcos. Kailangan ipaliwanag bakit ganun kalaki ang estate.”
According to Pimentel, the Marcoses should have been able to pay the P23 billion primary estate tax sum that the Supreme Court decided with finality in 1999. Due to interest, fines, and surcharges, the amount has risen to P203 billion.
Koko Pimentel seeks Senate probe on Marcos estate tax
“Ang estimate ng BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) ang estate na ito has more than P100 billion, that’s why P23 billion ang tax due. This kind of an estate should be able to afford lawyers that would be able to fight for the rights of the estate,” Pimentel said.
“The BIR started with the P100 billion. Mas malaki ang estate kesa sa estate tax. We can be able to at least collect the estate tax amount.”
According to Pimentel, former and current BIR officers and the Marcos estate’s administrators must be summoned before the Senate hearing.
“I want to find out what are the weaknesses in our tax laws, in the National Internal Revenue Code. How come the BIR cannot seem to collect such a world-record amount which the BIR already won in a final decision,” he said.
Koko Pimentel is the son of former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr., who was incarcerated multiple times under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and co-founded the PDP-Laban to resist him.
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