ALEX LACSON ENUMERATES WAYS TO SPEND MARCOS’ UNCOLLECTED ESTATE TAX
If the Marcos family only paid the P203B estate tax they owed the government during the pandemic, the money could have been used to buy 157,000 ICU beds, or 52,000 General X-Ray facilities, that could have helped 877,600 COVID-19 patients.
Senatorial aspirant Alex Lacson took to task the Marcos family for dodging the payment of the estate tax that has now ballooned to P203 billion over 23 years.
He said the government could have built 81,200 classrooms and 13,533 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, or purchase 135,333 patrol cars for the police.
“Ganyan kalaki ang sisingilin mula sa mga Marcos,” said Lacson. “Kung nabayaran sana ito noong 1999 nang naging final and executory sa Supreme Court ang halagang P23 bilyon, eh di sana hindi na ito lumobo sa P203 bilyon.
“But the Marcos family continues to employ legal maneuvers to escape liability,” said the lawyer who is running for a Senate seat under the banner of Vice President Leni Robredo and former senator Francis Kiko Pangilinan.
“Kaya ang kawawa, mga karaniwang Filipino,” he said. “Kung nasingil sana ito at naidagdag sa panggastos sa napakaraming programa ng pamahalaan, nakapagdulot sana ito ng ginhawa sa mga mamamayan, lalo na noong kasagsagan ng pandemya.”
He said the amount could have slashed more than half of the backlog in classrooms that now stands at 123,994.
“Kaya nitong pondohan ang 70% ng pangangailangan ng Universal Health Care Act sa susunod na limang taon,” Lacson added.
“Nagamit sana ito ng 5.8 milyon na mamamayang mayroong TB,” he said. “Isama na natin ang 2.03 milyong taong may cancer, o 8.12 milyong mamamayang may HIV na matutulungan sana kung nasingil ang halagang ito.”
“Nakapagpatayo din sana ng 406,000 na pabahay para sa mahihirap na pamilya, o 88 na ospital na may sampung palapag,” said the senatorial candidate.
“Nakapagbigay na rin sana tayo ng ayuda sa 20.5 milyong pamilya na tig-P9,900 bawat isa, or nakapagpaaral ng 422,000 na iskolar,” he added.
He said that the P203 billion in uncollected estate taxes from the Marcoses could have been used to hire more nurses, more doctors, or more teachers and policemen.
“Marami sana tayong nagawa sa perang ito. Pero ano ang nangyari? Pilit na iniiwasang bayaran ng pamilya Marcos,” he said. “Tapos gusto pang maging pangulo ng Pilipinas, eh hindi naman marunong magbayad ng buwis.”
