Prosecution witness Anne Loraine Garcia Marquez, chief of staff of the office of the BIR commissioner. Courtesy: Senate of the Philippines
THE prosecution today pointed to what it described as a “pattern of legal and constitutional violations” by impeachment trial respondent Vice President Sara Duterte.
Prosecution Counsel Erwin Matib told senator-judges in the course of this afternoon’s trial that such pattern was reflected in the income tax documents the Vice President filed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
The Vice President’s declarations in the documents were confirmed by prosecution witness Anne Loraine Garcia Marquez, chief of staff of the office of the BIR commissioner.
Based on Maquez’s testimony and BIR records, the Vice President, as Davao City mayor from 2017 to 2021, earned income other than her salaries.
The BIR witness testified that then Davao City mayor Sara Duterte received, on top of her “compensation income,” P3.2 million in 2017, P1.9 million in 2018, and P4 million in 2019.
She said the earnings were declared under “sales/revenues/receipts/fees.”
Asked by Matib where the “non-compensation income” could have come from, Marquez said these “should have been derived from the practice of her profession since she is registered with the BIR with legal activities.”
The witness’ answer made the prosecution counsel to assert that then Davao City mayor Sara Duterte violated the Local Government Code (LGC), which provides in Section 90: “All governors, city and municipal mayors are prohibited from practicing their profession or engaging in any occupation other than the exercise of their functions as local chief executives.”
Marquez also testified that based on her Income Tax Return (ITR) for 2023, Sara Zimmerman Duterte, as Vice President, received income from the Davao City government.
She said the Vice President attached BIR form 2316 to her ITR.
“Ibig sabihin naka-receive si VP Sara ng compensation income for 2023 (from Davao City),” she said.
This time, Matib called attention to the Vice President’s alleged violation of the Constitution, specifically Section 13 of Article VII.
He said the section states that the President and Vice President shall not, during their term of office, “directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) or their subsidiaries.”
He said the breach of the Local Government Code and the Constitution showed “a pattern of legal and constitutional violations” on the part of the Vice President.
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