Barbers: If Senate will return BIR box, that will be ‘temporary setback’

MANILA, Philippines — It will be a “temporary setback” for the House prosecution team in Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial if the Senate impeachment court will return the container holding Duterte and her spouse’s tax records, amid efforts to unseal it.

Former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, impeachment prosecution panel adviser, expressed this view on Sunday.

On Saturday, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said the upper chamber has “no business” keeping evidence, including the box containing Duterte and her husband’s, lawyer Maneses Carpio, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) records.

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The senator said the chamber will give it back to the 11-man prosecution panel.

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“What is important is that other evidence be presented,” Barbers told DZMM radio in Filipino. “This ‘BIR box,’ for a lack of a better word, is a temporary setback.”

“In the appropriate time, I’m sure the court will take it up again,” he noted.

The green cardboard box containing the tax records of Duterte and her husband was turned over by the BIR to the House committee on justice during hearings in April, but it remained sealed.

It was secured with tape and signed by BIR Commissioner Charlito Mendoza to prevent tampering.

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READ: Lacson says impeach court has no business keeping BIR box, orders return

Prosecutors consider the tax documents crucial in linking Duterte’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth and an Anti-Money Laundering Council report on her bank transactions to allegations of unexplained wealth in the impeachment complaint.

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“Our senator-judges must see the materiality and relevance of this evidence, as it will give a picture, a full picture (of Duterte’s) financial records included in the Articles of Impeachment,” said Barbers.

“This is evidence that may support the prosecution’s allegation, but could also serve the defense,” he added.

“In other words, this piece of evidence will work both ways when used in the trial, since it is common evidence for both sides,” he concluded.

Duterte’s trial, set to open on Monday, will set the stage for what could be a drawn-out debate over allegations that have long dogged her, ranging from corruption and constitutional violations that have cast a shadow over her political future.

Duterte is accused of misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds, ordering the assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family, and bribing education department officials to skirt procurement rules.

She also faces allegations of amassing unexplained wealth, fueled by alleged inconsistencies between her net worth statements, which reportedly showed she had tens of millions of pesos, and an Anti-Money Laundering Council report indicating that billions had coursed through her accounts over the past two decades. /apl

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