BIR box remains sealed as VP Sara Duterte camp files comment

Senate Secretary and Impeachment Clerk of Court Renato Bantug

The sealed box containing Vice President Sara Duterte’s tax records has not been opened or marked during the Senate impeachment court’s pretrial conference—an issue that could become a point of contention and delay the trial proper later.

Senate Secretary and Impeachment Clerk of Court Renato Bantug said on Friday that unsealing the box from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was deferred to allow the defense time to file its comment.

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READ: House prosecution panel: Open BIR box ‘in the interest of justice’

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The defense later confirmed that it has filed its comment electronically by end of office hours on Friday, but declined to elaborate.

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

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

Earlier in the day, Bantug said the defense wanted to comment on the House prosecution panel’s manifestation to unseal the box containing the tax records of the Vice President, her husband, Manases Carpio, and their firms.

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‘No authority’

The Senate impeachment court has concluded its five-day closed-door pretrial conference on Thursday.

Poa, in his statement, also addressed an earlier comment by Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong that the defense team was “afraid” of having the box opened because it could be the “smoking gun” in the allegations that Duterte amassed unexplained wealth.

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“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.

“[…] We believe it is only proper that the Defense be given the opportunity to [comment] before conclusions are drawn in public,” he added.

Important evidence

House prosecution lead counsel Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro earlier said the defense had “vehemently” objected to opening or marking the sealed BIR box.

Another prosecutor, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, questioned the opposition, saying, “If their conscience is clear, why not come out with the evidence.”

When asked whether the box could instead be opened or marked during the trial proper should the impeachment court allows it, Bantug replied that its existence had already been disclosed in the prosecution’s pretrial brief.

The box, which was transmitted by the BIR to the House of Representatives’ committee on justice in April, was later forwarded unopened to the Senate after a motion to open it failed during the panel’s initial proceedings.

The box is among the evidence that the prosecution seeks to present in relation to Article II of the articles of impeachment, which accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income and failing to truthfully disclose her assets, liabilities, and net worth.

Real or made-up

Meanwhile, at a press briefing, also on Friday, Adiong and lawyer Jay Tolosa said the prosecutors are giving the defense team a chance to prove that Mary Grace Piattos exists by listing the alleged confidential fund (CF) recipient among its witnesses in the impeachment trial.

“That’s a good point, if she does not exist, why name her as a witness?  But that’s exactly the point.  This is the opportunity for her, if she actually exists, to come forward and say, here I am presenting myself before the impeachment court, ready to testify,” Tolosa, the new addition to the private prosecution panel, said.

“So if she does not appear, this just supports our position that she’s a made-up person,” he added.

Adiong said the prosecution believes that Piattos is only a made-up personality, as revealed in previous hearings by the House committees on good government and public accountability and on justice.

He also referred to the Philippine Statistics Authority report stating that Piattos does not exist in their live birth, marriage, and death database; and the testimony of National Bureau of Investigation forensic examiner Carolyn Moldez-Pitoy that proofs of payment for the CF were signed by as few as seven individuals.

Adiong said that the only way to establish Piattos’ identity is through a neutral ground, which is the impeachment court.

“Now that’s our allegation and the only way to establish that is through a proper forum which is being agreed by both sides, and the proper forum is the court,” he said.

“Let the court find out who really is Mary Grace Piattos,” Adiong added.

Aside from Piattos, Office of the Vice President chief of staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez has also been listed among the 57 witnesses for the trial.

Ping’s reminder

In a related development, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Friday urged the impeachment court to advise both the prosecution and defense panels to refrain from publicly discussing the merits of the case.

“Even before the impeachment trial begins on July 6, a separate trial before the bar of public opinion is already ongoing,” he said in a post on X.

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“The impeachment court should advise both the prosecution and defense panels to refrain from openly commenting on the merits of the case at bar,” Lacson added. —WITH A REPORT FROM GABRIEL PABICO LALU