{"id":19867,"date":"2026-05-01T01:48:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T17:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/?p=19867"},"modified":"2026-05-01T01:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T17:48:16","slug":"house-panel-keeps-bir-box-containing-tax-records-linked-to-vp-sara-sealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/house-panel-keeps-bir-box-containing-tax-records-linked-to-vp-sara-sealed\/","title":{"rendered":"HOUSE PANEL KEEPS BIR BOX CONTAINING TAX RECORDS LINKED TO VP SARA SEALED"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE House Committee on Justice on Wednesday voted to keep sealed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box containing tax records linked to Vice President Sara Duterte, choosing a \u201csafer and cautious route\u201d as it moved toward determining probable cause in the impeachment complaints. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Voting 38-6 with no abstentions, the panel rejected the motion to open the box, following an intense debate among lawmakers over transparency, constitutional powers, and legal risks. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Committee chair Batangas Rep. Gerville \u201cJinky Bitrics\u201d Luistro said the decision was consistent with the panel\u2019s approach from the start. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSince day one of our proceeding, we have taken the conservative route, we have taken the safer and the cautious road, because we owe it to the Filipino people that this impeachment proceeding should be able to proceed and reach its conclusion,\u201d Luistro said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The motion to open the box, pushed by ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima and backed by several lawmakers, sought to allow the committee to examine all subpoenaed evidence, including income tax returns, to fully assess allegations of unexplained wealth. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Supporters said opening the box could either strengthen the case or clear the Vice President. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor warned that allowing tax laws to block the panel\u2019s authority could set a dangerous precedent. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA simple statute should never undermine the highest law of the land. Baka may ebidensyang makapagdismiss ng kaso o makapapatatag pa ng ebidensya laban sa Vice President,\u201d Defensor said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said the truth could only be established through documents. \u201cAng katotohanan ay nasa mga dokumento. Kung walang itinatago, dapat walang ikinakatakot,\u201d he said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago also backed opening the box, saying the committee must use its constitutional powers to ensure accountability. <\/strong><\/p>\n

However, a larger bloc of lawmakers opposed opening the records at this stage, citing legal limits, procedural boundaries, and the risk of derailing the proceedings. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Manila 6th<\/sup> district Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., one of the endorsers of the impeachment complaints against Duterte, cautioned that while Congress has broad powers, restraint is necessary. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cJust because we can do something does not mean we should. Ang trabaho ng House ay tukuyin lamang ang probable cause,\u201d Abante said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Deputy Speaker and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin stressed that the panel is not acting as an impeachment court. \u201cHindi pa po tayo ang korte. We are simply determining probable cause,\u201d she said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. David \u201cJay-Jay\u201d Suarez warned that opening the box could trigger new legal challenges from the Vice President\u2019s camp. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOpening this box might trigger another petition in the court to again stop the proceedings,\u201d Suarez said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno took a middle ground, saying the panel has the power to open the box but does not need to. \u201cIf we are talking about probable cause, the evidence is already there. Out of the abundance of caution, it would be more prudent to leave this to the Senate,\u201d Diokno said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said financial records already on file are more than sufficient, citing P6.77 billion in transactions flagged by the Anti-Money Laundering Council compared to Duterte\u2019s declared net worth of P88.5 million. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOn those two pieces of evidence pa lamang, sapat-sapat na para sa finding of probable cause,\u201d Ridon said. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Lordan Suan questioned the relevance of the income tax returns altogether, saying they add only marginal evidentiary value to the charges. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nueva Ecija Rep. Emerson \u201cEmeng\u201d Pascual and Negros Oriental Rep. Janice Degamo both said the opening should be left to the Senate to avoid blurring institutional roles. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Laguna Rep. Ann Matibag also opposed the move, stressing that taxpayer records are protected by law and may only be disclosed under strict conditions. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite rejecting the motion to open the box, the committee unanimously approved a separate motion to include it in the official records of the proceedings. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLet the box, though sealed, form part of the official records of this impeachment proceeding,\u201d Luistro ruled, with no objections. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The sealed BIR box will be transmitted to the plenary and, if the case proceeds, to the Senate, where it may be opened during the impeachment trial. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE House Committee on Justice on Wednesday voted to keep sealed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box containing tax records linked to Vice President<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19869,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19867\/revisions\/19869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}