Legal Showdown Looms Over Sara’s BIR ‘Green Box’

House prosecutors are bracing for a legal battle over a sealed box containing Vice President Sara Duterte’s tax records, even as the Senate formally cleared all procedural hurdles to open her impeachment trial on July 6.

Following the conclusion of the five-day pre-trial conference on Thursday, June 25, the House prosecution panel questioned the defense team’s strong opposition to opening and even marking a sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box containing the income tax returns of the Vice President and her husband, Manases Carpio.

Prosecutors consider the documents vital to proving the Article of Impeachment regarding unexplained wealth, as the tax records would establish the couple’s income.

When the defense objected to opening the container during the pre-trial, prosecutors compromised by asking the court to simply mark the sealed box as an exhibit to ensure its admissibility for the trial proper. However, the defense rejected that proposal as well, invoking due process.

Michael Poa, spokesman of the 16-man defense team of Duterte, argued that only the impeachment court can decide on any motion from the prosecution and the defense.

“First and foremost, it must be emphasized that the Clerk of Court does not have the authority to rule on any motion made by either of the parties. Such matters are solely for the impeachment court to resolve,” Poa said.

Amid the dispute, Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. said yesterday that both parties agreed to defer the matter to the discretion of the impeachment court once it convenes for the start of trial proper on July 6.

For his part, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday, June 26, said only the impeachment court can decide what to do with the contents of the sealed BIR box.

Speaking to GMA News, Gatchalian said he has instructed the impeachment team to work over the weekend to release the pre-trial order following the conclusion on Thursday of the five-day pre-trial conference.

While it was not marked as evidence during the pre-trial conference, the BIR box may still be included during trial, Gatchalian said.

First witness

The House prosecution panel is targeting to call its first witness on July 6, the scheduled opening day of Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial, which prosecutors estimate could last up to three months.

House prosecution legal spokesman Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said they have requested 62 trial days to present their case, noting that the defense had requested 30 trial days. However, he said the timeline could be shortened if multiple witnesses are presented per day.

The trial schedule will run from Monday to Wednesday until the President’s State of the Nation Address on July 27, after which it will shift to Tuesday through Thursday.  

Prosecutors revealed that a psychiatrist has been included in their 57-person witness list. – With additional reports from Neil Jayson Servallos, Alexis Romero, Bella Cariaso, Marc Jayson Cayabyab and Diana Lhyd Suelto