VICE President Sara Z. Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio cannot hide their income tax returns behind legal technicalities forever, Manila Rep. Joel Chua said Wednesday night.
Chua, a lawyer and chairperson of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, clarified that the Committee on Justice’s decision to keep the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) box of tax records sealed was a matter of caution—not a concession that the committee lacked the right to open it.
In fact, he said, many members believe the committee has every right to examine the contents, given that the House constitutionally holds the exclusive power to initiate impeachment against the most powerful public officials in the country.
“‘Yung impeachment, constitutional violation ang pinag-uusapan dito. Saka violation of law, betrayal of public trust, high crimes. So parang impossible naman na ito pa yung maging cover para makatakas yung mga tao na nagtatago sa batas,” Chua, a member of the House Committee on Justice, said during Insider Podcast interview over Bilyonaryo News Channel.
He also pointed out that the House’s constitutional mandate to launch impeachment proceedings comes with the authority to establish its own rules and issue compulsory processes such as subpoenas. In doing so, the committee obtaining an impeachable officer’s income tax returns is entirely valid, particularly in the context of an unexplained wealth allegation.
“Ang basis ko kasi dito, unang una, doon sa Constitution, binibigyan kami ng kapangyarihan para gumawa ng rules. Doon sa rules namin sa Section 7, binibigyan kami ng kapangyarihan para mag-issue ng compulsory processes, which is itong subpoena, di ba. At itong ITR, ito yung resulta ng subpoena,” he said.
Chua couldn’t stress enough that public office is a public trust; and that impeachment, as a distinct constitutional provision, represents the highest form of accountability process the Constitution has established.
However, he said the House also has to take the more conservative route given that the Duterte camp has consistently resorted to filing petitions challenging the justice committee’s jurisdiction and authority in reviewing tax records.
With the Committee on Justice having found probable cause even without opening the sealed box, Chua said the ball is now passed to the Senate. Should the case reach trial, it will be up to the upper chamber to decide whether to open the box.
If it does, the Senate impeachment court can then examine whether the taxes paid by the vice president align with the billions in transactions flowing through her and her husband’s accounts and with their declared net worth.
“Kaya lang siyempre sinasabi nga nila na mas maganda na na mag-ingat muna tayo. Kasi pagdating sa Senate, ‘yun pa rin naman ang issue eh,” Chua said.
“So eh kung ‘yun, nakita dun na mababa lang ‘yung mga binabayaran mong income tax, hindi nagma-match dun sa pumapasok sa transaction na bilyong-bilyon, saan mo nakuha yung bilyong-bilyong transaction?” he added.
While the committee recognizes that the tax code does not explicitly exempt impeachment proceedings from its non-disclosure provisions, Chua emphasized that the Constitution prevails whenever a statutory law conflicts with a constitutional mandate—and impeachment is precisely that.
“And in fact, dun sa Constitution natin, ‘pagka kunwari may session ang Congress or ang Senate, kailangan ang bibigyan ng priority, is yung impeachment,” he said.
“Kasi kung ganoon ang argument ni BIR Commissioner, pagdating sa Senate, ibig sabihin hindi rin po pwede. … Hindi rin naman in aid of legislation yung trial doon,” he added.
Justice panel members believe there is a glaring discrepancy in Duterte’s SALNs. She declared a net worth of only P88.5 million and failed to disclose her cash on hand and bank deposits for six consecutive years, yet the Anti-Money Laundering Council flagged P6.7 billion in covered and suspicious transactions from her accounts during her time in public office.
The Committee on Justice kept the box of tax records sealed but included it in the official records of the impeachment proceedings, to be transmitted to the Senate impeachment court should the House plenary ultimately vote to impeach the vice president.
