Mans Carpio camp says QC court case not meant to stop impeachment proceedings

The camp of lawyer Manases Carpio on Friday clarified that the case filed before a Quezon City court was not intended to stop or interfere with ongoing impeachment proceedings in Congress against Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a statement, Carpio’s camp said the petition specifically sought to prevent the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from releasing or transmitting Annual Tax Returns (ATRs) or Income Tax Returns (ITRs), which they argued are protected by confidentiality provisions under existing tax laws.

“To clarify, the case filed before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City does not seek to stop, restrain, or interfere with the ongoing impeachment proceedings in Congress,” the statement read.

According to the camp, the issue before the court was limited to preventing what it described as the unauthorized disclosure of confidential tax records.

The statement came after the QC court junked the petition filed by Carpio.

The court also denied Carpio’s plea for a writ of preliminary injunction against Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, House Committee on Justice (HCOJ) chair Batangas Rep. Gerville Reyes-Luistro, and Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza.

The BIR brought the tax documents of Duterte and Carpio to the House justice committee but placed it in a sealed box and blocked its opening. The House panel decided against opening the box, saying it would leave it to the Senate, convened as an impeachment court, if it will open it or not.

Carpio’s lawyers said the actions taken by the BIR and the House panel effectively recognized the validity of the legal relief sought before the court.

“According to the lawyers of Atty. Manases ‘Mans’ Carpio, the actions ultimately taken by the HCOJ and the BIR themselves demonstrate that what Atty. Carpio prayed for before the court was ‘just, legal, and constitutional,’” the statement said.

The camp maintained that confidential tax documents cannot be disclosed without strict compliance with safeguards and limitations imposed by law.

Despite developments involving the sealed documents, Carpio’s camp said they are still evaluating legal options, including the possible filing of a motion for reconsideration or an appeal.

“Nonetheless, our client continues to evaluate all available legal remedies, including the filing of a Motion for Reconsideration or an appeal, in order to fully protect their rights under the law,” the statement added.—AOL, GMA News