MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) officials told the Senate impeachment court on Thursday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. authorized the agency to release Vice President Sara Duterte’s tax records in connection with allegations of unexplained wealth.
BIR representatives submitted the requested documents to the Office of the Clerk of Court before the 9 a.m. deadline set by the impeachment court.
When asked by the Inquirer upon their arrival at the Senate whether they had secured Marcos’ authorization to release the records, the BIR representatives replied, “Yes.”
The documents include tax records belonging to Duterte, her husband, Mans Carpio, and businesses allegedly linked to the couple.
The impeachment court had directed BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza to make the appropriate return on a subpoena seeking Duterte’s tax records for Article II of the impeachment complaint.
The article involves allegations of unexplained wealth against the vice president.
The BIR’s submission came after the impeachment court clarified that its subpoena alone did not authorize the disclosure of taxpayer records.
In its July 20 ruling, the court cited the National Internal Revenue Code, which permits the inspection of taxpayer records only under limited circumstances.
These circumstances include an order from the president, a request from a foreign tax authority with presidential approval, or a waiver from the taxpayer.
The Senate impeachment court previously approved a subpoena seeking Duterte’s tax and bank records as part of the proceedings on the second article of impeachment.
