Amid apprehensions from senator-judges about possible legal implications if they unseal the box containing the tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Maneses Carpio, one solution has emerged: constitute as a legislative body, then endorse it to the Senate impeachment court. 

Former Supreme Court associate justice Adolfo Azcuna explained to the DAILY TRIBUNE that this is possible primarily because the Senate is “different” from the House committee on justice, which subpoenaed Duterte’s income tax returns but deferred their disclosure to the Senate impeachment court to prevent violating tax and privacy laws. 

Senator Ping Lacson, over the weekend, revealed that senators from the majority bloc collectively decided to return the contentious box to the House because “it is not the impeachment court or any court’s role to unseal it.”

It was Senator Chiz Escudero who warned that the Senate impeachment court has no legal right to keep it, much less unseal it, because such a task is vested exclusively with the House prosecution, provided that they secure authorization from the President upon recommendation by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Department of Finance, as mandated by the National Internal Revenue Code (RA 8424).

Meanwhile, Azcuna emphasized that the Senate impeachment court “can legally order” the opening of the box, although he agreed with reservations that it “could violate privacy laws.” 

“Another solution is to refer the box to the Senate, as the legislative body, to open it in aid of legislation, and, once opened, return and endorse it to the Senate as the impeachment court,” Azcuna told DAILY TRIBUNE.

Unlike the House justice panel, he argued that the Senate could switch from a legislative body to a tribunal “at any time.” 

The opening of the sealed green box from the BIR became a point of contention between the prosecution and the defense during the pre-trial stage, which concluded in late June. The defense argued that it was still premature to open the box at the preliminary stage of the proceedings and that it could infringe on Maneses’ privacy, given that he is a private citizen. 

As a result, the box was not admitted as evidence during the pre-trial conference.

The unsealed box is being considered a crucial piece of evidence by the prosecution team to prove that Duterte acquired alleged unexplained wealth, which is contained under Article II. 

The box was originally submitted by the BIR to the House justice panel in April, following a subpoena, but lawmakers decided not to open it, citing legal concerns, leaving the decision to open it entirely to the Senate impeachment court.

Under RA 8424, tax documents are highly confidential and can only be divulged in specific procedures, such as during an executive session in aid of legislation, or unless the taxpayer in question gives a written waiver permitting his or her tax records to be disclosed in public.

Since an impeachment proceeding is not explicitly in aid of legislation, House lawmakers deferred it to the Senate impeachment court to open it once the trial commences. 

During the pre-trial conference, House prosecutors insisted on opening the box to pre-mark its contents, which they could use as evidence to strengthen allegations of unexplained wealth and discrepancies in the VP’s SALNs.

However, the move met strong objections from Duterte’s defense, citing confidentiality and the right to due process. Even marking just the box itself was opposed by the defense.

The pre-trial stage closed without the box being opened or marked.

The defense was given until 26 June to file its comment on the prosecution’s manifestation, but as of writing, the Senate impeachment court has yet to rule on the prosecution’s motion. 

Lacson contended that the prosecution “should not pass the burden of unsealing the box” to the impeachment court. He warned that if the impeachment court were to rule in favor of the House, it could expose itself to grave abuse of discretion, which could undermine the proceedings, starting tomorrow, Monday.