G.R. No. 120880 June 5, 1997FERDINAND R.

MARCOS II,
petitioner,vs.
COURT OF APPEALS, THE COMMISSIONER OF THE BUREAU OF INTERNAL REVENUE andHERMINIA D.
DE GUZMAN,
respondents.Petitioner is the eldest son of the late President Marcos who questions the assessment of
the CIR andcollecting through the summary remedy of Levy on Real Properties, estate and income tax
delinquenciesupon the estate and properties of his father, despite the pendency of the proceedings
on probate of thewill of the late president. Marcos filed a petition for certiorari and Prohibition with an
application for writ ofpreliminary injunction and/or temporary restraining order before the CA against
the issuance of CIR of thenotice of Levy on Real Property and sale by public auction of the said
properties. CA ruled the deficiencyassessments for estate and income tax of the late President already
become final and unappealable, andmay thus be enforced by the summary remedy of levying upon
the properties, hence this petition. Marcoscontended that the pending probate proceeding puts
the properties in custodia legis of the probate court
to the exclusion of all other courts and administrative agencies. BIR argued that the sates authority to
collect internal revenue taxes is paramount.
Issue:
Whether or not the State can collect taxes on the estate of the deceased despite the pendingprobate
proceeding
Ruling:
The case of
Pineda vs
.
Court of First Instance
of Tayabas and Collector of Internal Revenue (52Phil 803), relied upon by the petitioner-appellant is
good authority on the proposition that the court havingcontrol over the administration proceedings has
jurisdiction to entertain the claim presented by thegovernment for taxes due and to order
the administrator to pay the tax should it find that the assessmentwas proper, and that the tax was
legal, due and collectible.Thus, it was in
Vera vs
.
Fernandez
that the court recognized the liberal treatment of claims for taxescharged against the estate of the
decedent. Such taxes, we said, were exempted from the application ofthe statute of non-claims, and
this is justified by the necessity of government funding, immortalized in themaxim that taxes are the
lifeblood of the government.
Vectigalia nervi sunt rei publicae

taxes are thesinews of the state.It has been repeatedly observed, and not without merit, that the
enforcement of tax laws and thecollection of taxes, is of paramount importance for the sustenance of
government. Taxes are the lifebloodof the government and should be collected without unnecessary
hindrance. However, such collectionshould be made in accordance with law as any arbitrariness will
negate the very reason for governmentitself. It is therefore necessary to reconcile the apparently
conflicting interests of the authorities and thetaxpayers so that the real purpose of taxation, which is the
promotion of the common good, may beachieved. [Marcos II vs. Court of Appeals, 273 SCRA 47(1997)]IN
VIEW WHEREOF, the Court RESOLVED to DENY the present petition