MANILA, Philippines —  Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza may recommend to President Marcos to authorize the opening of the tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio, Duterte’s defense team said.

“This is my understanding of the process,” defense spokesman Michael Poa said yesterday.

“Once a subpoena is issued against the BIR, it will be up to the BIR to process and see if they should or should not comply with the subpoena. And if they want to comply with the subpoena, they will be the ones recommending to the President for his approval,” Poa added.

The Senate impeachment court on Monday granted the prosecution’s request for a subpoena on the tax and bank documents of Duterte and Carpio.

“When it comes to the AMLC (Anti Money Laundering Council), there is no need for a presidential approval, but of course the approval of the council is needed,” Poa added.

Poa said the defense team has yet to decide whether to recommend to Duterte the filing of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the opening of the financial records of the Vice President.

“I’m still preparing the pros and cons. Because that’s how we work. Before I ask the Vice President for anything, I should be able to give her the pros and cons so she can decide and be well-informed in her decision,” he said.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said the Office of the President has not received any request to authorize the unsealing of the Vice President’s tax documents.

‘We’re just waiting’

Duterte’s camp said it is just waiting for the NBI to identify the assassins allegedly contracted by the Vice President to kill President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and former House speaker Martin Romualdez.

“If there is a development on that, then we’ll just be ready to also test if the accusation that there are assassins is true or not. Because, as we’ve mentioned, and as the Vice President has mentioned herself, she did not say assassin or the term assassin was never used in that video,” Poa added.

The defense team issued the statement after Matibag said on Tuesday the bureau already has “persons of interests” but declined to reveal the names because it might jeopardize the investigation.

At a press conference, Poa maintained that Duterte has denied hiring an assassin to kill the President.

Matibag said Duterte’s statements about killing Marcos were not just a threat but a “plan” and a “confession.” The NBI chief added that it was a “threat to national security.”

“That’s something for the prosecution to prove,” Poa said.

Poa defended the cross-examination of defense counsel Mark Vinluan after he mentioned that Matibag’s wife, Laguna 1st District Rep. Ann Matibag, is one of the endorsers of a House resolution which set forth the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, and that this may “affect the integrity of his testimony.”

Vinluan said Matibag may have taken the Vice President’s statements about killing President Marcos “out of context.”

Vinluan presented a video of Duterte’s press conference on Oct. 18, 2024, which was also used by Matibag to establish an alleged pattern of behavior of the Vice President.

“The video where you based your findings that VP Sara said she imagined cutting his (Marcos) head. Didn’t VP Sara say her statement in jest?” Vinluan added.

He also cited the video where Duterte, then mayor of Davao City, punched a court sheriff four times during a violent eviction of informal settlers in Davao City on July 1, 2011.

“Are you aware that VP Sara asked that sheriff for an extension of two hours just to help the victims?” Vinluan said. “So, in other words, are you also aware that it was the sheriff’s refusal to provide the two-hour extension? That’s why VP Sara got...”

Vinluan also described the affidavit of Arturo Lascañas, a former police officer and self-confessed member of the vigilante group Davao Death Squad as a “mere scrap of paper” because it was “unsigned and unnotarized.”

Shoulder defense food, Senate asked

Meanwhile, Duterte wrote to Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on July 7 and asked the Senate to shoulder the food and beverage of the defense team, support staff and witnesses during her impeachment trial.

However, the Senate did not grant the request.

“I can confirm that nothing like that was allowed. But I cannot dwell on the details because that’s an OVP letter and the defense team has no participation in that letter,” said Poa.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson also confirmed that Duterte made the request but he found it unreasonable.

“I cannot support this for one simple reason: items 2 and 3 may be violative of the government procurement law,” Lacson said.

Lacson said the OVP wrote a subsequent letter “modifying” the request.