Presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso bared that some P50 million out of P171 million in campaign contributions for his failed 2016 senatorial run is now part of his income.
Broadcast Journalist Jessica Soho, during the GMA News presidential candidate interviews on Saturday, Jan. 22, asked Domagoso about his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) which increased from P7,541,785.44 in 2007 to P55,629,848 in 2017.
She then brought up Domagoso’s Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) from his 2016 senatorial campaign which declared a total of P171 million in campaign contributions.
According to a report from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in December 2016, Domagoso paid “P9.7 million in taxes for an income worth P50.55 million.”
“Yun po bang P50.5 million is the same P50 million na na-save po ninyo from your campaign contributions (That P50.5 million is the same P50 million that you saved from your campaign contributions)?,” Soho asked.
“Yes, because I have to pay taxes. Kapag may natira sa kampanya dahil ‘yan naman ay pooled account, pooled money, iba’t ibang tao, you have to declare. Tapos kapag ‘yun ay nasa ‘yo na kailangan magbayad ng buwis (If there are leftovers from the campaign, because it is from a pooled account, you have to declare. Once the money is with you, you have to pay taxes),” explained Domagoso.
The leftover campaign fund was filed as Domagoso’s income.
“Nasaan na po yung pera (Where is the money)?” asked Soho.
“Nasa akin (it’s with me),” he replied.
According to Domagoso, there is no violation in keeping excess campaign funds as long as he pays taxes for it, adding that even the Commission on Elections has not issued any restriction on keeping excess campaign donations after the elections.