Ayala group pays P9.86B taxes ahead of deadline

Brothers Fernando (left) and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala lead the 7th generation Zobels.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. and key operating units settled P9.86 billion worth of taxes ahead of the extended June 14 deadline, wanting to help the government boost revenues during the difficult environment caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The taxes were paid by the parent conglomerate along with Ayala Land Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecommunications, Inc., AC Energy, and Manila Water Corp.

Brothers Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, who serve as the group’s chairman and president, respectively, expressed their gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte for recognizing Ayala’s support to the government’s initiatives.

“We are committed to help the President tackle the many challenges he has to deal with and are confident that by working together, our country can overcome each challenge, save lives, and gradually put the country back on a path of growth,” they said.
The brothers also emphasized the importance of public–private cooperation as the country deals with the vast impact of the pandemic.

To date, the Ayala group has contributed about P5.71 billion in anti-COVID-19 initiatives aimed to protect its employees, support its partners and clients, and provide for the communities it serves.

The P5.71 billion includes donation to charities, concessions to customers such as mall rental condonation, assistance to employees of contractors and vendors (salary continuance even if they are on a no work no pay basis), quarantine facilities for the government (World Trade Center, WHAO Center, Red Cross testing labs, testing booths for returning overseas workers, donations in cash or in kind to healthcare workers and government hospitals, as well as personal made donations by employees to give back to the community.