Sara Duterte defense panel files comment on prosecution's manifestation

MANILA, Philippines — The defense panel of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Friday filed its comment to the manifestation of the House prosecution team, including the request to unseal the box of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) which contains her tax records.

This was confirmed by Atty. Michael Poa, Duterte’s defense lawyer, as Senate Secretary and Impeachment Clerk of Court Renato Bantug gave the panel until Friday to submit its comment electronically.

READ: House prosecutors: Open box of VP’s tax records

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“The Defense confirms that we have filed our Comment to the Prosecution’s Manifestation/Motion before the Impeachment Court,” Poa said in a statement.

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“In keeping with the Senate Rules on Impeachment, we will refrain from discussing the merits of our filing in public,” Poa added.

The prosecution team made a manifestation to open the box and mark its contents during the pretrial conference of her impeachment case.

The team also made three other requests in its manifestation, such as the use of English and Filipino as official languages in the trial; “reciprocal three-day disclosure rule” for surprise witnesses; and for the public and private to examine each witness.

Bantug said that the opening of the BIR box was deferred after the defense team asked for time to comment on the manifestation.

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He added that the prosecution team acknowledged that the box could only be unsealed through mutual agreement with the defense team as he emphasized that the clerk of court has no authority to order the unsealing or marking of it as evidence.

READ: Bantug tells prosec, defense moves on BIR box during impeachment pretrial

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While the prosecution then proposed only marking the box without unsealing it, Bantug said that the defense “objected” as it asked for time to file its comment on the request.

Meanwhile, prior to the filing of comment on the manifestation, Poa also responded to the remark of Rep. Zia Adiong that fear of not being able to counter unexplained wealth allegations is the only reason the lawmaker could think of why the defense team does not want to unseal the box.

“First and foremost, it must be emphasized that the Clerk of Court does not have the authority to rule on any motion made by either of the parties. Such matters are solely for the Impeachment Court to resolve,” Poa said in a separate statement.

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Poa also said that it is only “proper” for the defense team to be given the opportunity to submit its comment “before conclusions are drawn in public.” /mr