Not enough House votes to open VP’s tax records
It will now be up to the Senate, once it sits as an impeachment court, to decide whether to unseal a box containing tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte, her husband and their businesses, after a motion to open it failed at the House committee on justice on Wednesday.
But this will only be after at least one-third of the members of the House of Representatives endorse the articles of impeachment against Duterte.
The majority or 38 committee members voted against opening the box, while six favored the move, and none abstained during the voting held at the “clarificatory” hearing of two impeachment complaints against the Vice President.
“The motion to open the box is hereby denied,” House justice panel chair Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said after declaring the vote outcome. “Let it be placed on the record that the committee will not open the box.”
It was Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima who moved to unseal the box. She said it was within the mandate of the panel “to open the box and examine the contents of the box.”
“These are relevant to the issues at hand, to the ground of unexplained wealth,” she said.
Iloilo Rep. and Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor later moved to keep the sealed box as part of the official records and have it transmitted to the Senate once the complaints reach the trial stage.
This motion was duly seconded by the committee.
Duterte is facing allegations of her misuse of confidential funds and amassing of unexplained wealth, among other grounds.
Probable cause
Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno, a known ally of De Lima, voted against the motion, citing “abundance of caution.” This despite believing that the panel has the capacity to open the box.
Diokno reiterated that the panel is only reviewing evidence to determine if there is probable cause to impeach Duterte.
“To be clear, I believe that the committee on justice has the power to open that box,” Diokno, a co-endorser of the impeachment complaints, said. “But to me, the crucial question is, do we need to open it?”
“If we are talking about probable cause, for me, the evidence is there, it is enough already to determine [probable cause] without opening that box,” he added.
“For once, I think we have disagreements,” Diokno also said of De Lima.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., another co-endorser of one of the impeachment complaints, also shared Diokno’s sentiments saying: “Keep it sealed for now. Let the Senate open it as part of the impeachment trial to open the truth in the proper trial time.”
‘Saddening’
Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said the body’s decision not to open the sealed box was “saddening.”
Bayan staged a protest outside the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, calling on Congress to immediately transmit the case to the Senate for a trial, while the hearing—the fourth on the impeachment complaints against Duterte—was ongoing.
“Congress’ decision not to open the BIR box is saddening,” Bayan secretary general Mong Palatino told reporters on the sidelines of the protest. “Congress should’ve given more weight to the values of accountability and transparency, instead of helping Sara Duterte conceal her tax records that the public should be able to see.”
The box had been submitted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) at last week’s hearing on the impeachment complaints.
Executive session
BIR Commissioner Charlito Mendoza, however, said the House panel could only examine the box’s contents in an executive session, citing Section 20(a) of the National Internal Revenue Code.
The provision on the Submission of Pertinent Information to Congress states that the commissioner, upon request of Congress and in aid of legislation, may furnish pertinent information including but not limited to: industry audits, collection performance data, status reports in criminal actions initiated against persons and taxpayer’s returns.
It also contains a caveat: “Provided, however, that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished the appropriate Committee of Congress only when sitting in Executive Session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.”
Mendoza maintained that impeachment proceedings were not an exception to the rule.
Last week, he attended the panel’s third hearing on the impeachment complaints against Duterte to confirm the BIR’s submission of documents on the Vice President, her husband, and their firms.
If convicted, Duterte will be removed from office and barred from holding any public post.
Duterte is the first one to announce her presidential bid in the 2028 elections. —WITH A REPORT FROM JASON SIGALES
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