Metro Manila, Philippines – House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro on Friday clarified that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), not the prosecution panel, would decide whether to seek presidential authorization to disclose Vice President Sara Duterte’s tax records if subpoenaed by the Impeachment Court.
“Actually, it is the discretion of the BIR… Prerogative iyan ng BIR, kung sila ba ay hihingi din ng authority sa presidente upang mailatag itong mga dokumento ng BIR,” Luistro told NewsWatch Plus on Friday, July 17.
[Translation: Actually, it is the BIR’s discretion. It is the agency’s prerogative whether it will seek the president’s authority before presenting the BIR documents.]
The president’s authorization is widely viewed as a key step to allow the prosecution to present Duterte’s tax records as evidence in the impeachment trial.
The prosecution has asked the Impeachment Court to subpoena Duterte’s tax records, bank documents, and reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) related to her financial transactions. During oral arguments on Wednesday, July 15, prosecutors argued that the Senate, exercising its exclusive constitutional authority to try impeachment cases, has the power to determine what evidence may be presented.
Luistro also rejected the defense claim that the subpoena request violates Duterte’s right to due process, saying the vice president has been given every opportunity to respond to the allegations throughout the proceedings.
Senator-judges are expected to question both the prosecution and defense on Monday, July 20, before voting on whether to grant the subpoena request. Court spokesperson Reginald Tongol earlier said a simple majority vote of senator-judges present would be enough to decide on the issue.
“Kung ito’y papaburan ng impeachment court, then the impeachment court will issue a subpoena to the BIR and it will be up to the BIR commissioner if he will consider the prerogative of soliciting the authority of the head of the executive upang maipresenta itong mga BIR records sa impeachment trial,” Luistro said.
“Kailangan natin hintayin kung anong decision ng impeachment court and after getting a favorable decision – hoping for that – then it should be the BIR who must decide whether he will be soliciting to get the authority of the executive. Otherwise, he should explain to the impeachment court kung bakit hindi siya sumusunod doon sa subpoena na na-i-issue na. That is on the assumption na the impeachment court will be acting favorably doon sa request ng prosecution,” she explained.
[Translation: We first have to wait for the Impeachment Court’s decision. If the court rules in our favor, it will then be up to the BIR to decide whether to seek the executive’s authority. Otherwise, the commissioner will have to explain to the impeachment court why the subpoena is not being complied with. That is, of course, assuming the court grants the prosecution’s request.]
During the 2012 impeachment trial of then Chief Justice Renato Corona, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares sought the approval of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III before submitting Corona’s tax records in compliance to a court subpoena. Tongol said that process ensured the documents were properly admitted as evidence during the trial.
House prosecutor Joel Chua earlier said the prosecution panel was exploring other options, as it wanted to avoid involving the president on the matter. Counsel for the prosecution Lorna Kapunan said whether to seek presidential authorization is a matter of legal strategy that the panel still has to discuss.
