Opening VP Duterte’s BIR docs before trial is for transparency – House

MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutors have asked the Senate impeachment court to authorize the opening of a sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) records box transmitted to the Senate as part of the impeachment records in the case against Vice President Sara Duterte.

The prosecutors sent the Senate a Manifestation with Proposal on Certain Additional Pre-Trial Matters filed as part of ongoing preparations for the impeachment trial set to begin on July 6, according to a statement they issued on Wednesday.

The prosecutors stressed that they were not asking the court to automatically admit documents in the box as evidence.

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READ: Duterte team: Objection to SALNs before VP term separate from BIR box

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What they want is a supervised inventory of its contents and to allow both the prosecution and the defense to prepare accordingly.

“The proposal is one of transparency and trial management, not admissibility,” the prosecution stated.

Avoiding trial delays

According to the filing, both parties have identified BIR-related records among their reserved documentary evidence, so it would be prudent to determine at an early stage what documents would be available to the impeachment court.

In its statement, the prosecution argued that “opening the box under the court’s supervision would help avoid future disputes, promote transparency, and facilitate the orderly presentation of evidence once trial begins.”

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The panel stressed that the inventory of the contents of the box would not include a ruling on their authenticity, relevance, admissibility, or evidentiary value.

Those questions, prosecutors said, would remain subject to future rulings by the impeachment court if the documents were formally offered during trial.

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“Rather than interrupt trial proceedings later to determine what records are contained in the sealed package, it is more efficient to clarify these matters during pretrial,” the filing stated.

READ: BIR orders tax probe of Sara Duterte, hubby, 9 firms

According to the prosecution, the BIR box is already part of the impeachment records currently in the custody of the Senate impeachment court, and an inventory under its supervision will give both parties equal access to information on the contents of the box.

The request, the prosecution said, is part of its push for measures that will streamline proceedings and prevent unnecessary delays before the trial.

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The impeachment court is expected to consider the proposal as part of the ongoing pretrial conference process. /atm