Incoming Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) chief Lilia Guillermo will request President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “to be a role model” for Filipinos and pay taxes in connection with the Marcos family’s over P203 billion in tax liabilities.
In a television interview Wednesday, Guillermo said she has to check first the documents about the tax liabilities of the incoming first family—and if there is a need to collect tax, the new appointee said she would tell Marcos to be a “role model” in paying taxes.
“As I’ve said, I need to know details, I would just tell him that if ever BIR has to collect the taxes, it’s not him who will pay for the amount but the estate,” she said on ANC.
“Can you be a role model? That will [set the tone.] The Marcoses will now pay their taxes because they comply with the law. It came from the Supreme Court, it’s final and executory, so that’s what I will tell him, but I need to have the correct data first,” Guillermo added.
The Marcos camp had yet to react to the incoming BIR chief’s statement as of press time.
The President-elect had announced on June 18 that he was appointing Guillermo to be his chief tax collector, plucking her from her current post as assistant governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
According to Guillermo, she and Marcos have not discussed the matter yet.
“There was no hesitation from me [on this issue] because I met the President himself. He has not said anything about it,” she said.
Guillermo said she is hoping that she will be able to see the documents on Monday next week, as the BIR leadership is expected to turn over their duties to her then.
If ever the Marcos estate pays, Guillermo said the amount would really help in the BIR’s collections.
“We have to convert those properties to cash and add it to the agency’s tax collections. Give me the time to go over the documents, how much are we talking about? I don’t know if it’s really P200 billion and maybe if that’s really the amount, it will really help in the collections of BIR,” she explained.
Earlier, Guillermo guaranteed the tax collection agency would comply with the court decisions on the alleged unsettled tax liabilities of the Marcos family.
A Supreme Court document showed that the ruling to affirm the Court of Appeals decision on the Marcos estate tax in 1994 was final and executory and that the deficiency income was unappealable.
The BIR sent a demand letter to the Marcoses last year regarding their tax deficiencies. The Department of Finance under the Duterte administration said the BIR continues to demand the settlement of the estate tax debt of the Marcos family.
Incoming Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, Marcos’ longtime spokesman, had maintained that the properties, which were the subject of the tax case, were still under litigation.
Rodriguez also assured the public that Marcos, as the incoming president, would implement and follow Philippine laws related to the issue.