Senate impeachment court confirms BIR compliance with presidential authorization under tax code

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero confirmed Monday that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) complied with the presidential authorization required under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) with regard to the submission of the tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband.

Escudero said this on the 11th day of the impeachment trial of Duterte.

“For the information of the Senator-Judges, the Clerk of Court received the submission coming from the BIR after the BIR commissioners submitted a presidential authorization providing for the release of the documents from the BIR as required by Section 71 in relation to Section 270 of the National Internal Revenue Code in compliance again with the court’s directive prior to receiving its submission,” he said.

Under Section 71 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), tax returns shall be filed in the BIR’s Office of the Commissioner and shall constitute public records and be open to inspection upon the order of the President of the Philippines.

Last Thursday, Malacañang confirmed that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. gave clearance to the BIR to submit the tax records of Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio to the Senate impeachment court and have it opened and be used as evidence by the prosecution and/or the defense panels in the impeachment trial.

Escudero said that copies shall be given to all parties after the submission is completed so they can photocopy and review the documents, noting that it will be the last Article that will be tackled in the court.

Bank records

Escudero likewise granted the request of BDO and Security Bank for additional time of 10 banking days, or until August 13, 2026, to fully comply with the subpoenas in relation to the bank records of the Vice President.

To recall, the Senate impeachment court on July 20 granted the House prosecution panel’s request to issue a subpoena for the tax, bank, and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records of Duterte and Carpio.

Aside from the BIR, Escudero said that the AMLC, BDO Unibank, Philippine Savings Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Companies, Security Bank, Landbank of the Philippines, and the Bank of the Philippine Islands, through their representatives, submitted the subpoenaed documents to the Office of the Clerk of Court on July 30.

During the submission, Escudero noted that BDO and Security Bank manifested their request for an additional period of 10 banking days to submit documents “which they are not able to submit on time.”

He said that BDO’s request was to retrieve, compile, produce, and submit item no. 3 in the subpoena, namely all account transactions, records, ledgers, journals, and transaction logs.

Meanwhile, he said Security Bank manifested "that due to the volume, it was unable to complete" the printing of documents pertaining to two of the 20 entities namely: Gen. Corp. Industries and Kalye 88 Foods Corporation. — RSJ, GMA News