“For the enlightenment of Mr. Ramel, this case is hinged on a legal issue that has yet to attain finality since the government through the public prosecutors has filed a Motion for Reconsideration with the Sandiganbayan, on the forfeiture proceedings on the very same properties that were made the tax base in the computation of the estate tax by the BIR thus, the properties subject of the estate tax case are still under litigation.

In fact, even the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) have arrived at an agreement for the BIR to wait for the decision on the said case before any collection enforcement activities and to establish ownership of the subject properties with certainty to determine with accuracy the fair and just tax base to be used in computing estate taxes, if any.

As to his other allegations, I encourage him to widen his research as these have all been answered by us in the past and it would surely help him come up with a more responsible statement in the future.”

Atty. Vic Rodriguez,
Chief of Staff and Spokesman
of presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos