By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — House prosecutors have renewed their push to have the Senate impeachment court open a sealed box containing the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Mans Carpio, arguing that the documents could be crucial in resolving allegations raised in the impeachment case.
The issue emerged as the Senate impeachment court concluded its five-day pre-trial conference Thursday, with the prosecution disclosing that Duterte’s legal team strongly opposed not only the opening of the sealed records but even the simple marking of the sealed box as evidence.
Lead House prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro said the defense anchored its objection on due process, although the prosecution maintained that the proceedings involved only the identification and marking of evidence and did not infringe on the respondent’s rights.
According to Luistro, the prosecution sought the court’s approval to open the sealed package because it contains tax documents subpoenaed by the House Committee on Justice during its impeachment inquiry.
She said the records are relevant in determining the lawful income declared by Duterte and her spouse, information that may either support or refute allegations concerning unexplained wealth.
The BIR submitted the documents to the House committee in compliance with a subpoena issued during an April hearing. However, lawmakers later voted to keep the records sealed after concluding that the conditions for disclosure under the National Internal Revenue Code had not been satisfied.
The unopened box was subsequently transmitted to the Senate impeachment court as part of the impeachment records.
Luistro said that after the defense rejected the proposal to open the box, prosecutors offered a compromise by asking that only the sealed package itself be marked as an exhibit without breaking its seal.
Even that proposal, she said, was opposed.
The prosecution questioned the objection, noting that the box would remain unopened and that marking it as evidence would merely establish its existence and chain of custody.
Luistro said the House panel is now leaving it to the Senate impeachment court to determine whether the contents of the sealed BIR records should eventually be examined during the trial.
She added that while the House respected the Justice Committee’s earlier decision to keep the records sealed, prosecutors believed the impeachment court is the proper forum to determine whether the documents should be opened and considered as evidence in the proceedings.
ia/xf
