Imee mum on leaked offshore accounts

By Freddie Lazaro

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte -- Gov.Imee Marcos has preferred to keep silent on leaked documents, known as the “Panama Papers,” which included in its list of rich and powerful world personalities with offshore accounts her three sons.

Ferdinand Richard Michael Manotoc, Fernando Martin “Borgy” Manotoc, and Matthew Joseph Manotoc were names included in the leaked confidential documents that revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.

“Our governor is too busy right now; she might give her statement about the report the soonest possible time,” said Arjay Penera, a staff member of the lady governor.

On Monday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published a new investigation revealing leaked internal files containing information on 214,488 offshore entities connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories.

The ICIJ describes an offshore entity as “a company, trust or fund created in a low-tax, offshore jurisdiction.”

Aside from Gov. Marcos and her three sons, Senator JV Ejercito was also among the more than 500 Filipinos included in what is considered to be the biggest leak of tax records comprising 11.5 million documents that showed how personalities – from celebrities to political figures – move their wealth to avoid taxes.