IF THE Marcos family only paid the P203-billion estate tax they owed the government during the pandemic, the money could have been used to buy 157,000 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, or 52,000 General X-Ray facilities, that could have helped 877,600 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients.This was stressed by Negrense senatorial aspirant lawyer Alex Lacson, who took to task the Marcos family for allegedly dodging the payment of the estate tax that has now ballooned to P203 billion over 23 years.Lacson, in a statement Sunday, April 10, 2022, said the government could have built 81,200 classrooms and 13,533 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, or purchase 135,333 patrol cars for the police.“Ganyan kalaki ang sisingilin mula sa mga Marcos,” Lacson said, adding that “kung nabayaran sana ito noong 1999 nang naging final and executory sa Supreme Court ang halagang P23 billion, eh di sana hindi na ito lumobo sa P203 bilyon.“But the Marcos family continues to employ legal maneuvers to escape liability,” the lawyer, who is running for a Senate seat under the banner of Vice President Leni Robredo and former senator Francis Kiko Pangilinan, said.“Kaya ang kawawa, mga karaniwang Filipino,” he said, pointing out that if the tax was collected and added to the government fund for many of its programs, it could have brought releif to the people, especially during the pandemic.He said the amount could have slashed more than half of the backlog in classrooms that now stands at 123,994.The lawyer said it could fund 70 percent of the need for the Universal Health Care Act in the next five years.“Nagamit sana ito ng 5.8 milyon na mamamayang mayroong TB (tuberculosis),” he said, adding that “isama na natin ang 2.03 milyong taong may cancer, o 8.12 milyong mamamayang may HIV na matutulungan sana kung nasingil ang halagang ito.”It also could have been used for the establishment of 406,000 houses for the poor families and 88 10-storey hospitals, the senatorial candidate saidHe further said that, “nakapagbigay na rin sana tayo ng ayuda sa 20.5 milyong pamilya na tig-P9,900 bawat isa, or nakapagpaaral ng 422,000 na iskolar.”The P203 billion in uncollected estate taxes from the Marcoses could have also been used to hire more nurses, more doctors, or more teachers and policemen, Lacson added.“Marami sana tayong nagawa sa perang ito. Pero ano ang nangyari? Pilit na iniiwasang bayaran ng pamilya Marcos,” he said. (PR)