VP Sara received income from Davao LGU in 2023 – BIR

Tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte showed that she had received compensation income during her term from the Davao City local government unit (LGU) according to an official from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

BIR Commissioner Chief of Staff Atty. Anne Lorraine Garcia-Marquez confirmed before the Senate impeachment court that Duterte had included a BIR 2136 to the Davao LGU in her income tax returns (ITR).

Asked to explain the meaning of a BIR 2136 form by private prosecutor Erwin Matib, Garcia-Marquez said that such a document contained pertinent information regarding the taxes that were drawn from the income of an employee.

“This is a certificate that an employer issues to an employee, there it indicates the income that an employer gave to an employee and the amount of taxes that were withheld by the employer to the BIR,” the official said.

Matib then proceeded to confront the witness with the actual forms that were attached to the ITRs of the Vice President from 2023.

Of the two BIR 2136 forms that were included in the financial document, Garcia-Marquez said that there was a particular line item wherein it was indicated that the “employer” of Duterte was the “City Government of Davao.”

Garcia-Maquez likewise confirmed that the form was signed by the city accountant of the LGU with the Vice President indicated as an “employee.”

“What this means is that Vice President Sara Duterte received a compensation income from the City Government of Davao in the taxable year, or the year 2023,” she answered when questioned about what the document entailed.

Garcia-Marquez would also confirm from Garcia-Marquez that Duterte had confirmed that she had received income given the fact that her signature was found in the BIR 2136.

It is worth noting that it was not clarified what the actual engagement was that led to the compensation being provided to the Vice President.

Attempting to prove the prosecution’s theory concerning Article II of the impeachment, Matib pointed out Section 13 of Article VII of the 1987 Constitution where it indicates that high-ranking public officials were prohibited from incurring income from other sources during their tenure.

“The President, Vice President, the Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure,” the law reads.

“They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office,” it stressed.

The prosecutor likewise highlighted Section 6 of Article VII wherein it notes that the Vice President “shall not receive during their tenure any other emolument from the Government or any other source.”

Presiding officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, meanwhile, questioned the witness on whether the BIR was in the position to determine whether a particular income was “legal or illegal” in nature.

Referring to the Tax Code, Garcia-Marquez said that regardless of the legality of an income, it was still taxable.

In order to determine how the amount was obtained, she stated that legality would be identified through an audit, otherwise they would have to issue a letter of authority to conduct an audit.