Duterte Defense Agrees to BIR Box Opening Only in Executive Session with No Public Copies

The defense team for Vice President Sara Duterte filed a June 26 comment with the impeachment court stating it is “not averse” to opening the Bureau of Internal Revenue box that holds her tax documents, provided the step occurs only in an executive session, Rappler reported.

The filing added that participants in the opening and pre-marking must be barred from releasing any copies to the public. ” The documents cover years when Duterte was neither an impeachable officer nor a public officer, the defense said, and therefore cannot support any impeachable offense.

The team cited its Answer dated May 25, 2026, and pre-trial brief dated June 15, 2026. Public prosecutor Leila de Lima of party-list group Mamamayang Liberal responded at a June 29 press conference. “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,” she said. The House of Representatives first subpoenaed the records during April 2026 clarificatory hearings on the impeachment complaint. Lawmakers later declined to open the box over concerns about violating the National Internal Revenue Code.

The prosecution sought to open it during pre-trial proceedings, but the Senate clerk of court deferred the matter for the defense response. The box was presented to the House justice committee on April 29, 2026. The records are expected to support the prosecution argument that Duterte acquired ill-gotten wealth.