FORMER justice secretary and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said opening the sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) records box linked to Vice President Sara Duterte during pre-trial proceedings would help speed up the impeachment trial set to begin on July 6.
De Lima, who is part of the House prosecution panel, said the proposal to unseal the box is timely as the court is currently in the stage of marking documentary exhibits.
She said the process would allow the impeachment court to immediately conduct an inventory of the contents of the sealed BIR box instead of delaying the matter until the formal trial.
“So since we are in the marking of exhibits, this is the proper stage na kailangan na rin siguro buksan ‘yan para magkaroon na ng inventory of the contents of that particular BIR box,” de Lima said, referring to the package reportedly containing the Vice President’s tax returns.
She added that opening the box at this stage would contribute to a more efficient and orderly conduct of proceedings.
“So sa tingin namin, that would also aid in a more efficient and more expeditious conduct of trial kung mabuksan na rin ‘yan ngayon during this stage ng pre-trial,” she said.
She also noted that the Senate secretary, acting as clerk of court for the impeachment proceedings, may need to secure clearance from the impeachment court or its presiding officer before the sealed box can be opened.
“I think the Senate secretary has to get the clearance from the court or at least from the presiding officer, tungkol diyan sa sealed BIR box,” she added.
She also said postponing the opening of the box until the trial proper would consume valuable court time, as the documents would still need to be inventoried and pre-marked at that stage.
De Lima stressed that it would be more practical to complete the inventory during pre-trial while the marking of exhibits is ongoing.
The party-list solon said the defense panel would still be given the opportunity to respond to the prosecution’s manifestation and proposal before any action is taken by the court.
She recalled that during earlier clarificatory hearings, the House Committee on Justice opted to keep the BIR box sealed after concerns were raised by BIR officials regarding taxpayer confidentiality under the National Internal Revenue Code.
Despite this, she maintained that supervised opening at the pre-trial stage would help streamline proceedings and prevent delays once the impeachment trial formally begins.