Senate impeachment court confirms BIR compliance with presidential authorization for tax records

The Philippine Senate impeachment court confirmed that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) complied with presidential authorization under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) in submitting the tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio. This confirmation was made on the 11th day of the impeachment trial. Presiding officer Senator Francis Escudero stated that the BIR commissioners submitted a presidential authorization, allowing for the release of documents as required by Sections 71 and 270 of the NIRC, in compliance with the court's directive prior to the submission of the tax records. This procedural step makes the tax records admissible as evidence in the impeachment proceedings. Last Thursday, Malacañang had confirmed that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had granted clearance to the BIR to submit the tax records of the Vice President and her husband to the Senate impeachment court, allowing them to be opened and used as evidence by the prosecution and/or defense panels. Escudero noted that copies of the submitted documents will be provided to all parties involved after the submission is completed, enabling them to photocopy and review the materials. This is expected to be the last article to be tackled in the court. Meanwhile, regarding compliance with subpoenas for bank records, both BDO and Security Bank were granted an additional 10 banking days, extending the deadline to August 13, 2026, to fully submit the requested documents. On July 20, the Senate impeachment court had granted the House prosecution panel's request to issue subpoenas for the tax, bank, and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records of Duterte and Carpio. In addition to the BIR, representatives from AMLC, BDO Unibank, Philippine Savings Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Companies, Security Bank, Landbank of the Philippines, and Bank of the Philippine Islands submitted the subpoenaed documents to the Office of the Clerk of Court on July 30. During the submission, BDO and Security Bank cited reasons for not being able to submit all documents on time. BDO requested additional time to retrieve, compile, produce, and submit item no. 3 in the subpoena, which includes all account transactions, records, ledgers, journals, and transaction logs. Security Bank stated that due to the volume, it was unable to complete the printing of documents pertaining to two of the 20 entities: Gen. Corp. Industries and Kalye 88 Foods Corporation. — RSJ, GMA News