Presumptive President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos addresses the members of the media during a briefing at the BBM Campaign Headquarters in Mandaluyong City on May 23, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - The incoming tax collection chief will ask President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos to be a "role model" in the event the Bureau of Internal Revenue will pursue the estate tax case against his family.
Incoming BIR commissioner Lilia Guillermo said she has yet to see documents proving that the Supreme Court in a 1997 decision ruled with finality that the Marcoses’ estate has a tax deficiency of P23 billion.
Guillermo said she hopes to see BIR documents on the Marcos estate on Monday, during the turnover of outgoing BIR Commissioner Cesar Dulay.
"Kung saka-sakali I have to collect or BIR has to collect, sasabihin ko this amount and this amount ay di naman po talaga kayo ang magbabayad, it’s the estate. Pwede ho ba maging role model kayo?" she told ANC's Headstart.
(In the event I have to collect or BIR has to collect, I will say this is the amount, which your estate, not you, has to pay for. Can you be a role model?)
"But I should have the correct data, I should know what really is in that decision. Ie-explain ko sa kanya, siguro 2 kami ni (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) Gov. (Benjamin) Diokno mageexplain sa kanya."
(I will explain it to him, maybe Gov. Diokno and I will explain it to him.)
Former Philippine first lady and current Congress Representative Imelda Marcos with her children, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos and Senator Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos attend her 85th birthday thankgiving mass at a church in Laoag city, Ilocos Norte province, northern Philippines, 02 July 2014. Francis Malasig, EPA/FILE
Guillermo added that Marcos did not talk to her about the estate tax case.
"Walang ganung pagaalinlangan because I met the President himself, ni wala siyang sinabi tungkol doon," she said.
(There's no second-guessing because I met the President himself, he did not mention it.)
Guillermo, who previously served under the BIR for "more than 30 years," eyes digitalization of the agency to improve tax collection.
Ninety-seven percent of tax collections come from voluntary payments while 3 percent only come from investigations, she said.
"We will make it easy for taxpayers," she said.
Guillermo also said she plans to hire big data scientists to analyze social media statistics and go after influencers who do not pay their taxes.
"I will form a task force analyzing this big data. Data-driven ang magiging decisions ko (my decisions will be data-driven)," she said.