By Lane Afable, News Edtor
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said it would be proper for the Senate to open the sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) records involving Vice President Sara Duterte once the impeachment complaints have been transmitted to the upper chamber for trial.
“Rightly so,” Lacson said in an ambush interview on Thursday.
The senator cited legal restrictions surrounding the disclosure of income tax return (ITR) documents based on the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), a law governing taxation.
“Kasi I heard (from) former BIR commissioner (Kim) Henares, mayroong provision sa NIRC na sinasabi niya only with the authority, written authority by the president na pwede mag-divulge ng mga ITRs ng BIR,” he said.
“So kailangan kunin ‘yun,” he added.
The issue arose from an earlier decision by the House Justice Committee to keep sealed a box submitted by the BIR containing the tax records of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, during the fourth and final impeachment hearing against the vice president.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, chair of the justice panel, later ruled that the box would form part of the official records of the impeachment proceedings.
House members also approved the motion to transmit the sealed records to the Senate should the impeachment case proceed to trial.
On Wednesday, the justice panel unanimously found probable cause in the two impeachment complaints filed against Duterte, accusing her of high crimes, including culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery and corruption, among others.
