The recent amicable settlement between the government and Lucio Tan for his Philippine Airlines to pay its arrears to the airport amounting to P6 billion was a milestone. That mind boggling amount was accumulated over the years. Why he never paid that long must have been because of the thought that he had so far been winning cases the government had been filing against him. Remember his supposed tax debts to the government to the tune of P1 billion? For many years, it had been the subject matter of case after case and the government was unable to collect it. Even after one lady head of the BIR said that “we have truckloads of evidence against Lucio Tan.”
Such truckloads could have pinned him down in other times, in other climes. But not in the Philippines. That was a lot of money that any lawyer who had access to the back channels could have won the “case after case” filed against him.
And remember that case where it was decided that PAL must pay its employees millions and millions of pesos? The decision there, from what I have read in an article or a letter to the editor in one national daily newspaper, handed down by the Supreme Court had become “final and executory.” That means, it was the end of the case and the PAL employees should receive their millions and millions of pesos. It was supposed to be final, no more legal remedies.
But they were up against Lucio Tan. And his lawyer, Estelito Mendoza (the only practicing lawyer with a private jet plane in this country), the top honcho on legal matters and affairs during the time of the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos allegedly visited the Supreme Court justices with a letter, not even a pleading (the formal documents lawyers file in court), and this resulted in the reversal of the decision which, considering that it was final and executory, should have been cast in stone.
In other words, for decades and decades, Lucio Tan’s companies (PNB, PAL, Asia Brewery, Fortune Tobacco, etc.) have been safe and sound from the collection efforts of the government. He might have said, “Me? Paying billions of pesos? I can just pay a few millions to some people.”
But the time will always come when scores have to be settled. Call it karma or whatever. So when PDu30 announced on TV for Lucio Tan to “pay up or else!” he sheepishly agreed to pay P6 billion.
It is nature’s law no lawyer can thwart. The time will always come.**