ROXAS, Oriental Mindoro - Aksyon Demokratiko presidential candidate Isko Moreno Domagoso on Thursday urged former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to pay the family's estate taxes after Marcos' lawyer admitted that the Supreme Court's decision on the case is final and executory.

Partido Federal ng Pilipinas general counsel George Briones earlier belied Domagoso's claim that the Marcos family's debt in estate taxes has ballooned to P203 billion due to penalties and surcharges for their failure to settle the initial P23 billion back in 1997.

In response, Domagoso said the Marcos family could settle up the initial P23 billion before paying the rest of the amount.

"Pagbigyan natin si Attorney. O bayaran mo na yung P23 billion. Final na pala, nasaan na?" Domagoso told reporters on the sidelines of a townhall meeting here.

(Let's give in to Attorney. Pay the P23 billion now. It's final, where is it?)

Former BIR chief Kim Henares earlier rejected the need to "reconcile" the P203 billion amount in the Marcoses' estate taxes, saying the penalties and surcharges are automatically computed for every year that the amount is not paid.

She said the BIR routinely sent demand letters to the Marcos family after the Supreme Court ruled with finality in the tax case, but the Marcoses ignored the letters.

Domagoso challenged Marcos to settle his tax dues as soon as possible, saying the amount in question is meager compared to all the assets the Marcos family has accumulated after decades in power.

"Whether P23 billion or P203 billion based on final assessment, what matters most is may P23 billion na dapat kang bayaran," the Manila Mayor said, noting that the sum can be used to purchase fertilizers for farmers.

"Bayaran mo na. Dami mong pera ah. Buwis mo pa lang P23 billion na, paano pa kaya yung natira?" he said, referring to Marcos Jr.

"Be honest with yourself. But anyway, that's your problem, not mine. Someday, magbabayad talaga kayo."

Domagoso has been pushing to use the Marcos' tax debt to fund the national government's aid package for drivers amid rising fuel prices in the country.

It was Domagoso's Aksyon Demokratiko who first flagged the Marcos family's failure to settle its billions-worth of estate tax dues ahead of the 2022 national elections, where the dictator's scion is deemed as the frontrunner.

• Isko's camp: BIR confirms demand for Marcos family to settle estate tax liabilities
• Isko Moreno targets Marcoses' P200-B estate tax dues: party chair

"I'm happy at least hindi ako fake news. Sinabi na niya. Inamin na niya. Umamin din sa awa ng Diyos," Domagoso said.

(I'm happy that at least I proved that I wasn't spreading fake news. They finally admitted it, thank God.)

"Sana nga kung talagang mabuti kayong tao at kayo ay para sa tao, ngayon na [bayaran]," he said.

(If they are really good people and if they are really for the people, they should pay it now.)

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