It seems that the defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte is afraid of opening the sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box,
This is according to House trial spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, adding that the content might be an “armory” of evidence in the impeachment case.
“From the very start na ayaw nila, it only speaks to us one thing na parang takot sila mabuksan itong box na ito,” Alonto Adiong said during a press briefing via Zoom.
“Baka ito yata ‘yung smoking gun. In fact, hindi lang yata ito smoking gun, mukhang armory na itong box na ito,” he added.
The sealed BIR box contains income tax returns (ITRs) submitted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue to the House Committee on Justice in compliance with a subpoena covering the tax filings of the Vice President, her spouse, and their financial interests.
According to the prosecution, the tax documents are central to the impeachment article alleging unexplained wealth because they could help determine whether Duterte’s declared assets, liabilities, and lawful income are consistent with one another.
The records are also expected to be compared with the Vice President’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) and other financial documents as prosecutors seek to establish the unexplained wealth allegation.
Alonto Adiong said the defense is also expected to rely on BIR documents as part of its own evidence, making its opposition to opening the BIR box difficult for the prosecution to understand.
“So nagtataka ako ang prosecution kung ganoon, isa po iyon sa kanilang ipipresenta as a way of also presenting to the court ‘yung kanilang defense, e bakit itong pinanggalingan ng ITR na pinanggalingan din ng kanilang magiging ebidensya ay ayaw nilang pabuksan,” he said.
He argued that opening the sealed box would give the impeachment court the complete financial picture instead of only selected records.
“The ITR box na galing po sa BIR, that will give us the whole financial picture of what we are discussing here regarding the SALN and the unexplained wealth. Mukhang ang gusto nila half-baked lang, huwag na nating pag-usapan nang buo,” Alonto Adiong said.
House legal spokesperson Atty. Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said the defense’s objection was highly unusual because the marking of exhibits is merely a procedural step during pre-trial and does not determine whether evidence will ultimately be admitted.
“Very unusual ho ’yan na even just the marking of the sealed BIR box was vehemently objected to by the other party,” Tolosa said.
He explained that parties are free to mark the evidence they intend to present during trial and that admissibility is decided only later by the impeachment court.
“And they do not have the right to object to it,” Tolosa added.
Tolosa reiterated that the marking of exhibits is intended to simplify the proceedings by allowing the parties and the impeachment court to quickly identify and refer to specific documents tied to each article of impeachment during the trial.