Vice Ganda, Julia Barretto, and Kathryn Bernardo were among the artists recognized by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for being the top celebrity taxpayers of 2024.

The tax bureau honored Vice Ganda, Barretto, and Bernardo, as well as other celebrities for their due diligence in paying their taxes at a Tax Campaign Kick-Off event in Quezon City on Tuesday, March 4.

The event marked Vice Ganda and Bernardo’s return to the BIR roster.

In a brief speech during the awarding held at a mall in Quezon City, Vice Ganda, who was the top celebrity taxpayer, underscored the importance of the government agency using the people’s taxes for good.

“Tama pong magbayad ng buwis. Obligado tayong magbayad ng buwis. Dapat nating gawin ‘yun. At pagkatapos nating magbayad ng buwis, karapatan din nating obligahin ang hahawak ng buwis na binabayaran natin,” he said. “Hindi madali kung paano natin kinita ang ipambabayad natin ng buwis… tayo ay may karapatang magtatanong saan ang binabayaran nating buwis.”

(It’s just right to pay our taxes. We’re obliged to pay our taxes. We need to do it. After paying our taxes, it’s our right to oblige those who hold our taxes accountable. It’s not easy earning the money to pay for our taxes. We have the right to ask where our taxes go.)

In a separate post, Vice Ganda expressed his gratitude to the government agency for the recognition.

“Maraming salamat sa pagkilala sa akin bilang TOP TAXPAYER in BIR Quezon City for 2024. Obligasyon nating magbayad ng buwis, at obligasyon din nating itanong kung saan napupunta ito (Thank you for recognizing me as the top taxpayer in BIR Quezon City for 2024. It’s our obligation to pay our taxes and it’s our obligation to ask where our taxes go),” he captioned his post.

Meanwhile, Barretto is named the second top celebrity taxpayer by the government body, as seen on the post of Viva Artists Agency on its social media platforms.

“Julia Barretto receives an award for being the second-highest taxpayer in Quezon City at the BIR Quezon City Tax Campaign Kickoff,” the post read.

Other celebrities recognized at the event were Bernardo (who thanked BIR through a video message), Kim Chiu, Darren Espanto, and Daniel Padilla (who was represented by his mother Karla Estrada).

Jennylyn Mercado, Dennis Trillo, Dingdong Dantes, Albert Martinez, Allen Dizon, and Catriona Gray were also among the awardees during the event.

Bernardo and Padilla were previously recognized by the BIR for fulfilling their responsibility in paying their taxes by the government agency in 2023. Also awarded in the previous year were Liza Soberano and Maja Salvador, to name a few.