THE Senate Impeachment Court can use its constitutional authority to compel the release of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s tax records without first waiting for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to authorize their disclosure.
Speaking on Morning Matters over One News, Barbers said, House impeachment adviser and spokesperson, former Surigao del Norte Rep. and Gov. Robert Ace Barbers, maintained that the tribunal’s constitutional powers are sufficient to obtain records it finds relevant and material to the unexplained wealth charge.
“Hindi naman sa ngayon kailangan ng approval ng ating Ehekutibo o ng ating Pangulo ‘yung pagbibigay ng authority para ilabas ito ng BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue). Because with the powers extended to the Impeachment Court, they can exhaust all these powers if they believe this BIR box is a relevant and material evidence in the trial,” Barbers, chairman of the House Quad Comm during the 19th Congress, said.
The Impeachment Court granted a subpoena for the tax records but indicated that their disclosure must still comply with the confidentiality requirements governing taxpayer information.
Barbers, former chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, argued that an ordinary statutory restriction should not prevent the Senate from obtaining documents necessary to perform its exclusive constitutional duty to try and decide an impeachment case.
“Then by the power extended by the Constitution to the Impeachment Court, they can already summon or subpoena these documents and make it public,” Barbers stressed.
The prosecution sought the BIR records to compare Duterte’s declared income with her assets, financial transactions and reported business interests.
The documents form part of the prosecution’s effort to determine whether Duterte’s wealth during her years in public office can be explained by lawful earnings.
“Kasi ‘yun nga ang aming prayer na lahat po ito ay hindi ito gawa-gawa o haka-haka lamang,” Barbers explained.
The subpoena followed the court’s finding that the prosecution had sufficiently identified records that were relevant and material to the allegations under Article II.
“Lahat po ng aming ebidensyang hinihingi na ipa-subpoena ay dulot ng investigation na ginawa sa Committee on Justice at ito ay may mga legal na mga basehan,” Barbers added.
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