The loyalty of supporters of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr was questioned by Filipino musician Bayang Barrios, Tuesday, March 29.
On her Twitter account, she shared her thoughts on one of the many controversies surrounding the Marcoses.
She posted a photo that says, “When you see a SUPREME COURT ruling and BIR demand letter or 203B in unpaid taxes and you still try to convince yourself it’s fake news.
“Please ask yourself if your loyalty to a political clan is worth more than your loyalty to the Filipino people.”
In the caption, the singer wrote, “Good morning, Pilipinas kong mahal!”
Good morning, Pilipinas kong mahal!💖🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭💖 pic.twitter.com/oSn09pWhoQ
— Bayang Barrios, Katutubong Diva (@bayangbarrios) March 28, 2022
Barrios was referring to the estate tax of the Marcoses to the young Marcos considered it as a “hoax.”
“Well, there’s a lot of fake news involved there. Let’s leave it to the lawyers to discuss it,” said the presidential aspirant during the Kapihan Sa Manila Bay media forum earlier on March 16.
He added, “The so-called facts that they call are not facts at all. They’re just presumptions.”
Marcos Jr.’s sister, Senator Imee Marcos has been dodging the same question since last week.
According to a 1997 Supreme Court decision, the Marcoses were ordered to pay for the liabilities of the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The initial amount was only P23.29 billion but ballooned to P203 billion after the heirs failed to pay the penalties.
“Death is certain but not the payment of estate taxes. Ferdinand Marcos died 32 years ago on Sept. 29, 1989. His heirs – Imelda, Bongbong, Imee, and Irene – did not file the estate tax return with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as required by law. Neither did they pay any estate tax,” explained retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio in a September 2021 Inquirer column.
The BIR also sent a demand letter to the Marcoses in December 2021.
“The BIR did send a written demand letter to the Marcos heirs on Dec. 02, 2021, regarding their tax liabilities,” revealed BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay in a letter addressed to Aksyon Demokratiko chairman Ernest Ramel Jr.
The letter was later on publicized on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
