VICE President Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, on Friday said the authorization allowing the release of their income tax records raises legal issues and called for a judicial review.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday directed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to submit the income tax records of Duterte and Carpio to the Senate impeachment court.
The court, which is trying the vice president, has issued subpoenas for the documents.
Carpio said he and the vice president respected the authority of the impeachment court, but maintained that the authorization should be evaluated under the Constitution and laws governing taxpayer information and the exercise of executive authority.
“The submission of documents to the Senate Impeachment Court is a procedural step. The legal significance, admissibility and evidentiary value of those documents are matters for the Court to determine in accordance with the Constitution, applicable law and the Rules of the Senate Impeachment Court,” Carpio said in a statement sent to The Manila Times.
He said his lawyers believe there was no indication that the BIR had issued any tax assessment or determination of tax deficiency against either him or the vice president, and will continue to pursue legal remedies.
In a separate statement, Carpio stressed that the submission of the tax records should not be interpreted as proof of wrongdoing, since it merely allows the Senate impeachment court to determine their relevance and evidentiary value and does not, by itself, establish liability.
He said transparency and accountability remain fundamental democratic values, but these must be balanced with due process and respect for constitutional rights.
Carpio expressed confidence that the impeachment court would carry out its constitutional mandate independently and render its judgment based on the facts, the law and the evidence presented before it.
Carpio had also filed a case against ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co for allegedly conspiring during a House Committee on Justice hearing to violate the Bank Secrecy Law and the Data Privacy Act over discussions involving financial records linked to the impeachment case.
On Friday, Tinio and Co said Carpio filed the case to derail the impeachment trial of the vice president and distract from efforts to hold public officials accountable.
“This complaint just aims to derail those who seek accountability. It is a distraction from the whole impeachment proceedings,” Co said.
Tinio described the case as legal harassment, noting that it was filed even after the impeachment court had subpoenaed the financial documents Carpio sought to keep confidential.
Tinio said their counter-affidavit he and Co filed answered Carpio’s allegations, and that the impeachment proceedings were not a witch hunt but an effort to determine how public funds were used.
