THE Kabataan Partylist said that the unpaid estate taxes of the Marcos clan can pay for “Ligtas Na Balik Eskwela.”
The Safe Schools Reopening Bill it authored states that the fast-tracking of the safe reopening of schools would cost the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Health (DOH) a total of P184.49 million.
With the P203 ($3.8) billion unpaid estate tax, the group now demands the Marcoses to pay their dues to the government immediately.
“The P203 billion unpaid Marcos estate tax is more than enough to provide for the 184 billion pesos needed to ensure retrofitted campus facilities, health services and personnel among other requisites to safely open schools for physical learning amid pandemic,” Kabataan Party-list National President Raoul Manuel.
Manuel highlighted how the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte prioritizes “red-tagging” over the youth’s education.
“Matatapos na lang ang termino ni Pangulong Duterte, di pa rin ligtas na makakabalik ang karamihan ng mga estudyante sa paaralan. Inuuna pa niya ang redtagging at pagtanggol sa pamilya Marcos. Singilin na ang utang nila sa bayan!” he said.
A report by ABS-CBN said the P203 billion uncollected estate tax may also be used to finance projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), such as 11 international airports or at least eight expressways as long as the NLEX-SLEX connector road.
