THE Senate may “divide the house” and call a vote if it cannot reach a consensus on the prosecution’s request to subpoena the bank and tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial that enters its third week Monday.
Following the conclusion of the second week of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, the Senate is set to vote this coming Monday on a highly contested motion to subpoena her financial and tax records.
In an interview on radio DZMM, Sen. Erwin Tulfo said opening the records from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to scrutiny presents a steep legal hurdle because they cannot be unsealed without specific authorization.
“The law says that only the president’s order, or the individual herself or himself, can say whether or not to open BIR records,” Tulfo said.
Even if the Senate votes to summon the documents back to the chamber, the Senate Impeachment Court will likely need to send a request to Malacañang Palace to secure an authorization from the president. Without it, the records will remain legally sealed, rendering the physical acquisition of the boxes pointless.
Frustration over ‘slow’ trial pace
Expressing personal frustration with the speed of the proceedings, Tulfo lamented that the court had only managed to hear two witnesses over the course of two full weeks.
He warned that the drawn-out nature of the trial is taking an unnecessary emotional toll on the vice president’s immediate family.
“The unfortunate thing here... is the anxiety. Of course, her children are affected. That is difficult. The more this is delayed, the more it feels like a hangover,” Tulfo said, calling for a swift resolution to the trial.
The senator emphasized that if the prosecution fails to present solid, concrete evidence to back up the articles of impeachment, the court should not hesitate to throw the case out entirely.
Deliberations on the subpoenas and the internal voting process are expected to dominate the opening of the Senate’s regular session this Monday.
A consistent legal defender of the Dutertes, Melissa Loja, questioned the constitutional basis of several articles in the impeachment complaint against the vice president, arguing that there is a “disconnect” between the constitutional grounds for impeachment and the acts alleged in the complaint.
In an interview with The Manila Times on Saturday, Loja said Article XI, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution recognizes three impeachment grounds relevant to the case — culpable violation of the Constitution, high crimes, and betrayal of public trust.
The complaint, however, identifies three alleged constituent acts: contracting an assassin, making grave threats, and inciting to sedition.
“There is a disconnect between the grounds and the acts,” Loja said.
She argued that the allegation of contracting an assassin could amount to a culpable violation of the Constitution only if it is established that the alleged objective was to remove President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from office so that Duterte could assume the presidency.
Loja said the allegations of grave threats and inciting to sedition likewise do not readily fall under culpable violation of the Constitution, adding that inciting to sedition “might in fact cross into constitutionally protected speech.”
She also questioned whether any of the alleged acts could qualify as “high crimes.”
