Analysts Back Public Opening of BIR Box in VP Sara's Impeachment Trial

Political analysts are backing the public opening of a sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box containing tax records sought by House of Representatives prosecutors in the impeachment case against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, arguing that transparency is essential in a proceeding involving constitutional accountability. “Given the nature of impeachment as a constitutional accountability process involving one of the country’s highest officials, public access is generally expected,” Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, told BusinessWorld via Facebook Messenger. “Transparency strengthens the legitimacy of the proceedings and reinforces public confidence in the Senate as an impeachment court.” Party-list Rep. Leila Norma M. de Lima, a member of the House prosecution panel, on Monday said the sealed BIR box should be opened and all documents inside marked as evidence before the impeachment trial begins. “It really must be opened and the contents really must be seen,” she told reporters in Filipino. Ms. de Lima said the issue at this stage is not whether the documents would ultimately be admitted as evidence or the weight they will carry, but that they should first be inventoried and marked because they form part of the prosecution’s documentary evidence. She also opposed the proposal of Ms. Duterte’s defense team to open the box behind closed doors. Ms. de Lima said the sealed box might contain the income tax returns (ITR) of Ms. Duterte and her husband, Manases “Mans” R. Carpio, as well as tax records of companies in which they have business interests. “That could include the ITRs of the spouses, VP Sara and Mans Carpio, and the companies they have business interests in, and the other tax records,” she said. Michael T. Poa, Ms. Duterte’s lawyer, did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment. Private prosecutor and legal spokesman Benjamin S. Tolosa, Jr. said the defense’s decision to allow the opening, inventory and marking of the documents represented progress, although it continues to seek an executive session that would keep the proceedings confidential. He said the impeachment court should resolve the matter promptly to avoid delaying the trial. ‘PUBLIC MATTER’ Hansley A. Juliano, a political science instructor at the Ateneo de Manila University, said impeachment proceedings require a higher degree of transparency than ordinary court cases because they involve public accountability. “In most trial procedures, respondents’ right to privacy is still broadly protected,” he said via Messenger. “However, this is a public matter, and excluding evidence, unless it is determined not to be relevant to the case, would not be beneficial to engendering trust of the process.” Mr. Juliano said excluding evidence could undermine public confidence in the proceedings and invite comparisons with the “second envelope” controversy during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, when the Senate voted against opening an envelope believed to contain potentially incriminating evidence. That eventually led to his ouster by a popular street uprising. “If certain evidence is thrown out, it will forever be invoked as a denial or distortion of the process,” he said. He added that disputes over the BIR records could affect the pace of the trial. “Attempts at excluding evidence always can bog down discussions and agreements between the prosecution and defense,” he said. If the prosecution succeeds, it must prove the documents are material. If the defense prevails, the public will closely watch how it justifies that position, he added. Mr. Tapia said opening the BIR box is merely a procedural step and does not involve matters such as national security or state secrets that would justify an executive session. “Conducting it in open session does not prejudice the respondent’s rights, nor does it amount to a ruling on the merits of the evidence,” he said, adding that the Senate’s ruling could set an important precedent for future impeachment proceedings.