Out-of-court settlements of tax evasion cases should be undertaken only if it redounds to the direct advantage to and is in the best interest of the people.
Manila Rep. Manny Lopez made the assertion as he appealed for the long-overdue upgrade of three public hospitals in Tondo, which makes up a big part of his district, out of funds settled from delinquent taxpayers.
He backed the position of President Duterte for an out-of-court settlement of tax evasion cases faced by big firms and proposed that the collected back taxes be used to upgrade public hospitals.
Lopez cited the need for a careful implementation of tax settlements, making sure that they favor the people and the government.
More importantly, he said, such deals should be above board and beyond suspicion.
He identified the three Tondo hospitals that needed upgrade and financial assistance as Ospital ng Tondo, Tondo Medical Center and Gat Andres Bonifacio Medical Center.
He cited the P3-billion out-of-court settlement that President Duterte had offered to cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp., which is facing charges for tax evasion.
He welcomed the proposal of Mr. Duterte to use P1 billion of the settlement to upgrade the facilities of the Tondo hospitals.