Opening the tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte would help the Senate impeachment court and the public obtain a fuller view of her finances, House trial spokesman and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said.
He said this was why the House prosecution panel sought the opening of a sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box believed to contain the income tax returns of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
“Ang nais po natin ay magkaroon po ng clear financial picture, hindi po siya half-baked lang,” he said.
He pointed out that the prosecution intends to use the tax records to support one of the Articles of Impeachment, accusing the Vice President of having unexplained wealth.
“Ang paniwala po namin ay meron pong unexplained wealth diyan,” he said.
He noted that the impeachment court should be allowed to receive and examine available evidence to determine whether Duterte should be held accountable under the charges filed against her.
He added that one way to pursue accountability is to allow relevant evidence to be opened, admitted, and considered before the Senate impeachment court reaches a final judgment.
Responding to a question, he said the impeachment court has the authority to inquire into the tax records of an impeached official.
He recalled that during the House justice committee hearings on the impeachment complaints against Duterte, lawmakers decided to keep the BIR box sealed due to concerns that opening it could raise issues under the confidentiality provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code.
“We wanted to avoid technical issues. That’s why ang decision was to submit this to the proper forum, which is the impeachment court,” he said.
Asked if prosecutors would pursue separate charges against Duterte if discrepancies are found between her tax records, declared earnings, and bank accounts, Alonto Adiong said the panel is focused only on the impeachment case.
“We are focused on the articles of impeachment. We don’t intend to participate or predict what would be the subsequent legal issues that may arise,” he said.
The prosecution raised the proposal to open the BIR box during last week’s pre-trial conference on the marking of evidence.
Duterte’s lawyers objected and asked for time to submit an explanation, which they presented to the impeachment court last Friday.
Prosecutors said marking the tax documents as evidence during pre-trial would help save time once the trial proper begins and could expedite the proceedings.