PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) should certify as urgent the House bill extending the deadline of the estate tax amnesty for another two years, Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said Thursday.

Recto said people will “save billions while government will earn billions” by simply moving the June 14, 2023 deadline to June 14, 2025.

“A one-sentence letter from the President supporting a one-line bill will make this a reality,” Recto said.

Recto said the extension is an “act of kindness” to seniors whose vulnerability during the 30 months the pandemic raged prevented them from availing of the amnesty.

“Halimbawa, marami sa ating mga kababayan na nasa ibang bansa na nais sanang ayusin ang namana nilang ari-arian ang hindi makauwi dahil sa matagal at mahigpit na lockdown,” Recto said.

“Putting a deceased loved one’s properties in order was also a casualty of Covid,” Recto added.

“If government had extended ‘lifelines, bailouts in the billions’ to distressed commercial firms during the pandemic, then why should not the same compassion be extended to families, more so that it won’t cost the government anything?” the deputy speaker pointed out.

While in the Senate, Recto was among the authors of the Republic Act (RA) 11213, a 2019 law that erased the penalties and significantly cut the rates for estate tax obligations.

But the period to avail of the “one-time” tax relief coincided with the pandemic, prompting Congress to pass what would become RA 11569, which extended the amnesty period by two years, to June 14, 2023.

Recto said another justification for the proposed extension is the lower-than-projected government collections from the program.

When RA 11213 came into force in 2019, “the forecast revenue was in the P6 billion to P8 billion range, but actual take as of [the] end of 2021 was P5.5 billion,” he said.

“Ang isang dahilan ay mahirap na nga ang proseso, mahaba pa ang requirements, maraming pirma ang kailangan sa hatian ng mga minanang ari-arian, at dinagdagan pa ng Covid,” Recto said.

In addition to erasing penalties, Recto said the Estate Tax Amnesty Law slashed the final rate.

“The idea was to unlock the potential of idle assets left by the deceased so these can be used for productive purposes by the heirs,” he said.

In the House, Speaker Martin Romualdez led chamber leaders in filing HB 7409, which seeks to extend by another two years the deadline for applying for estate tax amnesty.

“This great bill by the Speaker represents the will of the grassroots as canvassed by their district representatives. PBBM should certify it for urgent passage,” Recto said.