Defense to present witness concerning VP Sara income from Davao

The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte said it would present a witness to explain her receipt of compensation income from the Davao City local government in 2023, an issue raised during her impeachment trial before the Senate on Friday.

Defense lawyer Michael Poa made the manifestation after the Vice President’s alleged receipt of income from the city government was brought up again during the proceedings.

“If I may, your honor, with all due respect…I will just say that we will address this issue, because we know this will make headlines,” Poa said.

“We will just assure this court that we will address this issue and face this head on and give you a perfectly reasonable explanation during our presentation for everything,” he added.

Poa said the defense would present an unnamed witness during its turn to present evidence, adding that the testimony would be supported by relevant records and documents.

His statement came after Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo questioned why Duterte’s lawyers had not advised her about Article VII, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution, which restricts certain government officials from holding other offices or positions, engaging in business, or having financial interests in government contracts and franchises during their tenure.

Tulfo suggested that Duterte’s lawyers may have been aware of the issue but chose to disregard it, believing they were “untouchable” under the law.

“Who I will blame for this issue are the people around VP Sara because they endangered her. They did not steer her away from danger, like what’s happening now. They placed in danger our honorable Vice President,” Tulfo said.

The senator was referring to testimony from Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) official Anne Lorraine Garcia-Marquez, who said Duterte’s 2023 income tax return included a BIR Form 2316, a certificate of compensation payment and tax withheld issued by an employer.

During the prosecution’s direct examination, Garcia-Marquez explained that the form certifies an employee’s compensation income and the taxes withheld from it.

Its inclusion in Duterte’s income tax return indicated that she had received compensation income from the Davao City government in 2023, the BIR official said.

“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,” Garcia-Marquez testified.

When Presiding Officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero asked whether the BIR could determine if a particular source of income was legal or illegal, Garcia-Marquez said the bureau’s role was to tax income regardless of the legality of its source.

She added that determining the legality of income would require an audit of the relevant tax records.