With the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte set to begin, a lawmaker said it is not the responsibility of the Senate Impeachment Court to resolve the issue of unsealing a box believed to contain the tax records of the Vice President and her husband, Manases “Mans” Carpio.

In a radio interview on Saturday, Senator Panfilo Lacson said the House prosecution panel should not “pass the burden” of unsealing the box from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to the Senate impeachment court.

The box is believed to contain the income tax records (ITRs) of Duterte and Carpio.

Lacson said prosecutors may seek permission from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to open the box but maintained that the Senate should not undertake the action because of possible legal implications.

“The prosecution should not pass the burden of unsealing the box to the Impeachment Court. The prosecution may ask permission from the Office of the President to unseal the box. But it should not pass the burden to us because we will not do it,” Lacson said.

He said the matter was discussed during a caucus held by senators ahead of the opening of the impeachment trial on 6 July.

According to Lacson, senators agreed that the box should remain sealed and be returned to the House prosecutors, noting that the Senate has no authority to keep it in its custody.

“Sen. Francis Escudero is right in saying the Impeachment Court has no business safekeeping the evidence because it is a court — unless it is presented and admitted as evidence before the court by the prosecution or defense,” he said.

In a separate radio interview, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian echoed Lacson’s position.

Gatchalian said prosecutors must formally present the BIR box during the proceedings so it can be marked and admitted as evidence.

“When the time comes, they should offer it again and mark it. The impeachment court has no business to hold on to that evidence,” he said.

Chua warns of ‘second envelope’ scenario

Meanwhile, Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua argued that the impeachment court should collectively decide whether to open the box, warning that the issue could become another version of the “second envelope” controversy during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada in 2001.

The “second envelope” contained bank records allegedly linked to the account name “Jose Velarde,” which prosecutors claimed would prove Estrada’s alleged hidden wealth. The senator-judges’ decision not to open the envelope triggered public outrage and contributed to Estrada’s ouster during the EDSA People Power II movement.

“If they don’t approve it, it might have the same effect,” Chua said, referring to the BIR box.

Chua maintained that the records inside the box are material to the prosecution’s case involving the alleged unexplained wealth of Duterte.

He argued that the impeachment court has powers similar to those of a judicial court and may determine whether the tax records are relevant to the proceedings.

“If there is nothing to hide, what is the reason for it to be kept from the public? The issue here in the impeachment is for justice and accountability,” Chua said.

The box believed to contain the tax records of Duterte and Carpio was first presented during a House Committee on Justice hearing that examined allegations of unexplained wealth against the Vice President.

The committee later deferred the opening of the box to the impeachment court to avoid a possible violation of provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code.

After Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives, the box was transmitted to the Senate along with the Articles of Impeachment.

House prosecutors sought to have the box opened during pre-trial proceedings, but the defense opposed the move, arguing that the matter should be resolved during the trial proper.