‘Final na pala, asan na?’: Mayor Isko dares BBM to pay family’s estate tax debts now (Sabong News)

Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Thursday, March 31, dared former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to pay his family’s estate tax debt. This, after Partido Federal ng Pilipinas general counsel George Briones on Wednesday, March 30, admitted that the Supreme Court in 1997 ruled with finality that the Marcoses owed P23 billion in estate tax, adding that the P180 billion in penalties may still be subject to reconciliation. “Pagbigyan natin si attorney, o bayaran mo na yung P23 billion. O attorney, final na pala e, asan na? Kaya gamitin namin pambayad sa pang ayuda natin sa mga farmers, bili tayo ng fertilizer P2,600 per bag, i-ayuda natin sa mga driver ng jeep, bus, taxi, Grab, tricycle, kasi hirap na hirap sila at lumiit ang kita nila. And I’m happy ha, at least hindi ako fake news. Sinabi nya na, inamin nya na, umamin din awa ng Diyos. Talagang may Diyos, ano? At least hindi tayo nagsisinungaling at sila na rin ang umamin (Let’s give it to the attorney, pay the P23 billion. Attorney, it’s final so where is it? So we can use it to pay for our assistance to farmers, we will buy fertilizer P2,600 per bag, we will help the drivers of jeeps, buses, taxis, Grab, tricycles, because they are working very hard and their income has been adversely affected. And I’m happy, at least I’m not spreading fake news. He said it, he admitted it. There really is a God, right? And at least we’re not lying and they admitted it),” Domagoso said in an ambush interview. “Whether P23 billion or P203 billion based on final assessment what matter most is may P23 billion kang dapat bayaran at inamin mo na na dapat bayaran. Tanong, o bayaran mo na ngayon? Kailangan ng bansa ng pera (is you have a P23 billion to pay and you have already admitted that you have to pay. Question, can you pay now? The country needs money),” he said. Domagoso has been repeatedly saying that he will run after the P203 billion estate tax debts of the Marcoses, saying these could be used as “ayuda” for Filipinos affected by the pandemic. The Manila mayor also questioned why the Marcos family refused to pay their liabilities when the amount was still the original P23 billion, citing that the Marcos has a huge amount of money. “Ang dami mong pera. Biruin mo buwis mo pa lang P23 billion na paano pa kaya yung natira? Diba? (You have a lot of money. Your tax is only P23 billion, what about the rest?) I mean be honest to yourself. But anyway, that’s your problem not mine. Someday e magbabayad talaga kayo. Sana nga kung talagang mabuti kayong tao at kayo ay para sa tao, ngayon na kayo magbayad (Someday you will really have to pay. Hopefully if you are a really good person and you are for the people, pay now),” Domagoso said. “Pero ang good news lang ngayon at least umamin na sila. Now, salamat naman napatotohanan yung sinabi ko, o iniba lang yung numero pero ganun pa rin yun. Ibig sabihin final na pala and executory. So, salamat naman (But the good news now is at least they have admitted it. Now, thank you for confirming what I said, or you may just have changed the number but it’s still the same. That means it’s final and executory. So, thank you),” he added. Aksyon Demokratiko campaign strategist Lito Banayo, meanwhile, said if only the Marcos had paid the P11.5 billion before there would have been no issues against them today. “That the original P23 billion estate tax ballooned over time to P203 billion due to penalties and government surcharges, the Marcos family has no one to blame but themselves partly because of their sense of entitlement and partly due to their arrogance of power. Talagang walang intensiyon kailanman na ibalik ang yaman nila sa bayan (They really have no intention to return their wealth to the people),” Banayo said.