The tandem of Partido Lakas ng Masa standard bearer Leody de Guzman and his running mate, Walden Bello, wants to consolidate the assets and income of millionaires in estimating the “right” taxes that should be imposed on them. 

“What we want to do is precisely to combine assets, as well as income in terms of the estimation of how much an individual is really worth,” Bello said, explaining the process of their proposed “wealth tax” during the Pandesal Forum on Tuesday, November 9. 

According to Bello, if their tandem wins, they would think of a methodology that would properly estimate how rich a person or a family is to impose the “wealth tax” on them. 

“Our sense is that we cannot just divorce those two…Of course we have an income tax at this point in time. And when it comes to wealth tax, that’s really broken up into property taxes and all of that,” Bello said. “We need a methodology of really estimating the aggregate wealth of an individual or a family. And then also for having [a] very solid estimate of income.” 

The Leody-Bello tandem runs to fight what they called, “Marcos-Duterte axis of evil.” On October 23, they launched their platform titled, “Bagong Politika, Bagong Ekonomiya (New Politics, New Economy).”

Their platforms include reforms in politics, social development, and the Philippine economy. One of their proposed economic reforms is the wealth tax, which seeks to tax the country’s richest families and individuals with net worth above P100 million, aside from the existing tax requirements.

Bello’s campaign plans

Bello, who now runs after he substituted for Raquel Castillo as De Guzman’s running mate, had filed his candidacy through an authorized representative. 

The vice presidential aspirant has been in the US since September for his teaching duties. According to Bello, he would return to the country for his campaign. 

“I’m just teaching for about six weeks dito sa US every year and I left the Philippines [on] September 20. So I’ll be back there by November 16 and I’ll be campaigning from there,” Bello explained. 

Pacquiao’s ‘ayuda challenge’

In a statement on Tuesday, November 9, aspiring president Senator Manny Pacquiao said that instead of criticizing him for giving out aid, other candidates should also “share their wealth” to the poor as a way to compensate for “years of neglect and corruption.”

“Maganda siguro magkaroon tayo ng ayuda challenge para sa lahat tumatakbo para makinabang naman ang mga Pilipino. (Maybe it’s good to have an ayuda challenge for everyone who is running so that Filipinos would benefit from it),” said Pacquiao.

Pacquiao said politicians tend to only remember their constituents during elections.

“‘Pag nakapuwesto ang karamihan sa ating mga politiko, nakakalimutan na nila ang mga tao. ‘Pag eleksyon saka lang silang nagpaparamdam sa mga tao kaya dapat sulitin na nila. Ipamahagi naman nila kahit kauti ang kanilang mga kayamanan,” the boxing champion-turned-senator said.

(When politicians are elected, they often forget their constituents. They only remember them during elections, so it’s only befitting that the people benefit from this. Politicians should share even just a part of their wealth.)

Pacquiao rose to international fame and billionaire status due to his colorful boxing career. Ever since, Pacquiao has been known for his generosity.

Since filing his certificate of candidacy, Pacquiao has gone around vote-rich provinces and gave cash aid or relief packs to people. He has pledged to only stop giving out aid when the campaign season officially starts in February 2022. – Rappler.com