BIR box opening should not require executive session - Chua

House prosecutor and Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua said on Saturday that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box should be opened in public during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which officially begins on Monday, July 6.

The sealed box contains the income tax returns (ITRs) of the Vice President and her husband, Manases Carpio. It was first submitted to the House Committee on Justice but was never opened. The defense, however, said it should only be opened during an executive session and that its contents should not be disclosed publicly.

Chua disagreed.

“Hindi naman po kailangan na ito ay sa executive session dahil ito po ay impeachment court na," he said during a news forum in Quezon City.

(There is no need for it to be opened in an executive session since this is already an impeachment court.)

He argued that the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, is comparable to a regular court handling tax-related cases.

“Halimbawa sa kaso ng tax evasion, ‘di ba po ‘pag ang korte nag-issue ng subpoena at sinabihan ang BIR para sa mga ITR. ‘Di po allowed ‘yun? So po puwede po natin maihambing ang impeachment court sa korte kung saan pinapayagan na po ‘yung ganito,” Chua said.

(For example, in a tax evasion case, if a court issues a subpoena ordering the BIR to produce income tax returns, that is allowed, isn't it? In that sense, we can liken the impeachment court to a regular court, where such requests are permitted.)

The House Committee on Justice issued a subpoena for Duterte's tax records in March as part of its deliberations on the impeachment complaints against the Vice President.

The committee, however, deferred opening the sealed box until the case reached the Senate for trial.

BIR Commissioner Charlito Mendoza had earlier said tax records may only be unsealed if the request is made "in aid of legislation" and if the proceedings are conducted in an executive session rather than a public hearing.

Chua, however, said that the relevant provision under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) applies only to committee hearings.

“Sa NIRC, National Internal Revenue Code, ‘yung binabanggit po kasi doon sa executive session kung may hearing sa committee level. Pero ito po hindi na po ito hearing ng committee level... Ito po ay impeachment trial na,” Chua said.

(Under the National Internal Revenue Code, the provision referring to an executive session applies to hearings at the committee level. But this is no longer a committee hearing. This is an impeachment trial.)

During the pretrial conference, the House prosecution panel asked the impeachment court to open the BIR box so its contents could be inventoried and marked as evidence.

Duterte's camp initially opposed the request, arguing that it would violate due process. The House prosecutors, however, countered that the defense's reluctance stemmed from "fear" rather than legal grounds.

The prosecution seeks to present the BIR box as evidence to support Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust by allegedly:

* amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings while in public office;
* failing to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), including those for 2022, 2023, and 2024; and
* failing to divest from her business interests and instead willfully maintaining them during her tenure as Vice President from 2022 to 2025.

— VBL, GMA News