Duterte impeachment: Defense, prosecution clash on bank, tax secrecy

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team on Wednesday reiterated its refusal to allow the Senate Impeachment Court to subpoena Duterte’s bank and tax records during her trial, saying it would violate confidentiality laws.

Defense counsel and spokesperson Michael Poa made the remark during oral arguments on the prosecution’s request for the impeachment court to issue subpoenas for the documents.

“The issue before the impeachment court today is whether you possess the power to issue a subpoena. The real issue is whether such power may be exercised in a manner that disregards due process and compels the production of documents and information beyond what is allowed by law,” Poa told the court.

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“Impeachment is not a magic word or a magic wand that one can just wave to transform an illegal act into a legal act, to transform unlawful access into lawful access. That is not what the Constitution contemplates. That is not what the laws enacted by Congress contemplate. And that is not what the impeachment court should allow,” he also said.

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READ: Escudero: Impeach court to rule on bank, tax record subpoena

During his argument, Poa cited laws that prohibit the disclosure of bank and tax records, particularly the Anti-Money Laundering Act, including the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (AMLC) General Principles of Information Exchange, the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), and the Law on Secrecy of Bank Deposits.

The Anti-Money Laundering Act requires the AMLC to protect and not reveal “any information known to them by reason of their office.”

Poa highlighted that under the AMLC’s principles, financial reports disclosed in confidence may not be used “as evidence in formal proceedings.”

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Poa also pointed out that the NIRC “penalizes disclosure of taxpayers’ information,” and although there are exceptions, impeachment proceedings are not among them.

Poa argued that the Law on Secrecy of Bank Deposits, despite providing a specific exception for impeachment, is “not automatic.”

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“This exception does not dispense with constitutional safeguards. It does not abolish the right to due process,” he explained.

In response during the rebuttal, House prosecution panel member Rep. Chel Diokno, citing the law, asserted that the impeachment court has the power to seek such private documents to uncover the truth.

“If we look at it, the law and the Constitution’s mandate to this impeachment court are very clear. You have the sole and exclusive power to determine an impeachable offense, and that includes the power to uncover the whole truth and make your decision based on it,” Diokno said in Filipino.

“It is easy to say that certain information and documents are confidential. It is easy to cite the law. But what the impeachment court is seeking now, and in the days, weeks, and months ahead, is the truth, and its goal is to achieve accountability. Confidentiality should not be the prevailing principle in these proceedings. The truth is not confidential,” he added.

READ: Tongol: Unfair to call vote on VP bank, tax records a conviction vote

Diokno also pointed out that the laws Poa cited do not explicitly bar the impeachment court from obtaining bank and tax records.

Regarding the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Diokno said the provision Poa cited pertains to prohibitions against “leaks by members of the AMLC.”

“It never was intended to short-circuit the impeachment process or limit the powers of this honorable court to find out the truth,” Diokno argued.

As for the exceptions under the NIRC, Diokno recalled that tax records were made accessible to the impeachment court during the trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona through an order from the President.

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Diokno did not elaborate on the Law on Secrecy of Bank Deposits, noting that it already allows the disclosure of documents in impeachment proceedings. /mcm