Sara Duterte's Camp Agrees to Open BIR Box, But With Conditions

The single sharpest fact in one or two punchy sentences. Who did what, where, when, and why it matters. Not a summary of everything — the one thing that makes someone stop scrolling. A reader who only reads this paragraph must understand what happened.

Vice President Sara Duterte's camp has agreed to open the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box containing her tax documents, but only in a confidential session. The camp made this announcement in a comment to the prosecution's manifestation filed with the impeachment court. The defense team said parties who will participate in the opening of the box and pre-marking of its contents must be strictly prohibited from releasing copies to the public.

The prosecution panel questioned the defense team's request to open the box only in an executive session. “Why is there even a need for an executive session? They could simply assign a team, for example, to open it and have its contents marked,” said public prosecutor Leila de Lima of party-list group Mamamayang Liberal. The House first subpoenaed Duterte's tax records during its clarificatory hearings on the impeachment complaint against the Vice President in April.

The BIR box contains documents covering the years where respondent was neither an impeachable officer nor a public officer. As previously raised in the respondent's Answer dated May 25, 2026 and pre-trial brief dated June 15, 2026, those documents cannot serve as basis for any impeachable offense as these pertain to a time prior to the respondent's assumption of an impeachable office.

Duterte's tax records are expected to be used as evidence to drive home the prosecution's argument that the Vice President acquired ill-gotten wealth. The defense team insisted that the opening and pre-marking of the box must not be construed as an admission of the legality of the BIR submission to the committee on justice vis-à-vis prohibition of disclosure of confidential and private data.

The House first subpoenaed Duterte's tax records during its clarificatory hearings on the impeachment complaint against the Vice President in April. Lawmakers later decided not to open the box amid questions on whether they would violate the National Internal Revenue Code.

“It must be made clear that the opening and pre-marking shall not, in any way, be construed as admission of the legality of the BIR submission to the committee on justice vis-à-vis prohibition of disclosure of confidential and private data,” Duterte's lawyers said.

The prosecution tried to have the box opened during pre-trial proceedings, but the Senate clerk of court deferred the matter to allow the defense to comment on the issue.

The Impeachment Court will weigh the defense's proposal and make a final decision on the matter. A reader who only reads this paragraph must understand what happens next.

The Impeachment Court will make a final decision on whether to open the BIR box and allow the contents to be marked. The defense team will present its arguments on why the box should only be opened in a confidential session.

A final word on this story — the prosecution will use Duterte's tax records as evidence to drive home their argument. This will be a major development in the impeachment proceedings and will set a precedent for future cases.

A final note on the Impeachment Court's decision making process — the Court will weigh the defense's proposal and make a final decision on the matter. The decision will set a precedent for future cases and will have a major impact on the impeachment proceedings.