President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s authorization for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to submit Vice President Sara Duterte’s tax records to the Senate should not be taken as a blessing upon the impeachment proceedings, the prosecution panel said on Thursday.
Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, a member of the House of Representatives’ prosecution panel, explained in a press briefing that Marcos’ authorization to BIR was ministerial – claiming that the President would have done the same for other impeachable officials, since it is part of the pursuit for accountability.
Earlier, BIR personnel delivered boxes containing the tax records of Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio to the Senate, as these formed part of the impeachment court’s subpoena issued last July 20. The prosecution deemed the box necessary to establish their claim that Duterte has unexplained wealth not mentioned in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.
‘I think there’s nothing wrong because it was a ministerial request for the President, so this means irrespective of whoever it is – whether it is any other impeachable official, I think the President will still give his consent towards the opening of the BIR documents,’ Ridon said when asked if he thinks Malacañang’s hand on Duterte’s trial is now evident.
‘Especially if it will further the cause of accountability and further the cause of justice. So, I think, there is no reason to say that our President has a hand on this matter,’ he added.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson for the prosecution team, said that if the Duterte camp is confident that the Vice President had done nothing wrong, they should not oppose the subpoena on the BIR documents since it may eventually prove her innocence.
‘It does not matter who made the request, what matters is that the evidence is available. Because if the use of funds were really above board, why is the other camp afraid? If their position is that they did not violate any law or policy, and they are not accountable for anything, then they should welcome this method,’ Alonto Adiong said.
‘Because we will unpack through these proceedings the true story, and if their position is that they did not violate any law, they do not have to be afraid,’ he added.
After the submission of Duterte’s tax records to the Senate Impeachment Court, BIR representatives told reporters that they were able to secure Marcos’ authorization.
Early during the prosecution’s press briefing, Ridon also confirmed that Marcos had given the authorization. Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro also confirmed the matter.
The prosecution intends to use the BIR documents to prove allegations under Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which deals with claims that Duterte committed culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust when she amassed unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official.
During the oral arguments on the request for a subpoena, public prosecutor and Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno represented the prosecution panel, and noted that this will not be the first time that the Senate Impeachment Court will summon tax records of an accused official.
According to Diokno, the same thing happened when the court subpoenaed these documents during the trial of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Diokno also noted that members of the present impeachment court, like Presiding Officer and Senator-judge Francis Escudero, were among those who asked whether evidence that predates Corona’s term as Chief Justice will be admitted.
Furthermore, the prosecutor said that Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano also argued that Corona’s bank records before he was a chief justice were important to the discussions of whether Corona committed impeachable offenses