Presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Tuesday, Jan. 25, said he is willing to make his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) public if he is elected as the country’s next president.
“Aba, oo naman. Di ba requirement ‘yun? Sina-submit naman ‘yun. Sa akin nasa gobyerno (Well, of course. That’s a requirement. It should be submitted. Mine is already in the government),” Domagoso said during a press conference at the Manila City Hall.
He also said that a copy of his SALN has already been sent to the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Anda-dyan na, nasa Ombudsman. Wala naman tayong itinatago. In fact, di ba naalala mo ‘yung tanong nung kay Jessica ‘yung sobra duon sa ano campaign funds sinagot natin. Nagbayad pa ako ng buwis mga P13 million, P9.7 million something plus P3 million something ang binayaran kong buwis (It’s already with the Ombudsman. We are not hiding anything. In fact, do you remember the question of Jessica on the excess campaign funds, we answered it. I even paid taxes about P13 million, P9.7 million something plus P3 million something),” Domagoso said.
“Kasi ‘yun ang batas. ‘Yun ‘yung dapat mong gawin. Importante ‘yun (Because that’s the law. That’s what we should do. It’s important),” he added.
During the Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews on Jan. 22, Domagoso revealed that the P50.55 million excess campaign fund for his failed 2016 senatorial run is now part of his income.
Domagoso, however, maintained there is no violation in keeping excess campaign funds as long as he paid the taxes for it.
“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 ‘yon ay nasa iyo na, eh kailangan mong magbayad ng buwis, which is ‘yun ang ginawa ko (If there are leftover money 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),” he said.
Read more: Mayor Isko’s P50-M excess campaign fund in 2016 declared as his income
Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has not issued any restriction on keeping excess campaign donations after the elections.
“The only rule that there is can be found in revenue regulations issued by the BIR which states very clearly that unspent campaign funds shall be treated as income and shall be subject to the payment of the appropriate income tax, so it follows that there really is nothing wrong with hanging on to unspent campaign funds as long as you pay taxes,” Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez had earlier said during an online press briefing.
“If I may just editorialize beyond that, ultimately the disposition of these funds is between the candidate and the donor. So if the donor sees nothing objectionable with that sort of use of the money they gave, that’s it. Again, subject to the payment of appropriate taxes,” he added.