Marcos okays release of Sara Duterte’s tax records
MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday morning, July 30, turned over the tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate impeachment court, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s approval, House prosecutor Terry Ridon said.
The tax records also include those of Duterte’s husband Mans Carpio and companies linked to the couple.
In his July 20 ruling on the issuance of subpoenas, presiding officer Chiz Escudero said that an authorization from the president is required to open Duterte’s tax records, following Section 71 of the National Tax Code.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro addressed questions on why the President allowed the release of BIR documents.
“Kung ano and sinasabi ng batas, kung ano ang proseso, susunod po ang Pangulo. Kung ‘yan po ang sinasabi at kinakailangan na magbigay siya ng approval para mabuksan ang tax records nina VP Sara at Atty. Mans Carpio, at ito naman ay para sa katotohanan, hindi niya po ipagkakait ang katotohanan sa ating mga kababayan,” Castro said.
(Whatever the law says, whatever the process is, the President will follow. If that’s what the law says and if his approval is needed to open the tax records of VP Sara and Atty. Mans Carpio, and this is for the truth, he will not deny the public from knowing the truth.)
“Hindi po magiging hadlang si Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sa paglabas ng katotohanan,” she added. (President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will not be an obstacle to truth.)
The financial records are among the pieces of evidence that House prosecutors intend to use to prove Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth.
The Senate Office of the Clerk of Court received bank records from BDO Unibank, Inc., Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank), Security Bank Corporation, Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).
The delivery of the tax records comes after the Senate impeachment court agreed to issue subpoenas for these financial records, including bank accounts and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) documents.
Senate impeachment court spokesperson Regie Tongol said it will release the documents to the parties “only after the meticulous inventory process is complete.”
“The Impeachment Court will not rush the chain of custody. Security and accuracy take precedence over speed,” Tongol said.
Duterte’s defense team, however, argued that the request for subpoenas was illegal, “oppressive, unreasonable, and violative of the right of the respondent and her spouse to due process.”
During a House justice committee hearing on the impeachment complaints against Duterte, it was revealed that total of P6.77 billion in large and suspicious transactions flowed through the bank accounts of the couple from 2006 to 2025, dwarfing the amounts declared by Duterte in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. – Rappler.com
