VP OK to BIR box opening in closed doors – De Lima

Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima —Photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta | INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutors on Monday said Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team has dropped its earlier objection and is now willing to allow a sealed box containing her tax records to be marked as evidence before the Senate impeachment court, although the defense wants the process conducted in executive session.

The shift came a week before the Senate convenes as an impeachment court, with prosecutors arguing that transparency requires the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) records to be opened and catalogued publicly.

Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, a member of the House prosecution panel, said Duterte’s lawyers had initially opposed even the marking of the BIR records but have since agreed in principle.

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