MANILA — The Senate impeachment court is set to decide on July 20 whether prosecutors will be allowed to obtain the bank and tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, in what could become a crucial ruling on the scope of evidence admissible in the impeachment proceedings.
Senate President and presiding officer Francis Escudero said the senator-judges agreed during a caucus on Wednesday to defer the vote to give members more time to study the constitutional and legal issues raised by both the prosecution and the defense.
“Given that they want more time to look into the complicated issues involved in these two motions for the issuance of subpoena, the senator-judges agreed in caucus to decide on the matter on Monday,” Escudero said.
He added that before the voting, each senator-judge would be allowed up to 10 minutes to question both the prosecution and the defense regarding the subpoena requests.
The House prosecution is seeking access to the financial and tax records of Duterte-Carpio and her husband to bolster its allegation that the Vice President amassed unexplained wealth.
House prosecutor Cong. Chel Diokno argued that the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, derives its authority directly from the Constitution and is therefore not constrained by the Bank Secrecy Law or the Data Privacy Act.
“The Constitution, your honors, vests this Impeachment Court with extraordinary powers. Tanging ang hukumang ito lamang ang may kapangyarihang magpasya kung ang mga pinakamataas na pinuno ng ating bansa ay karapat-dapat pa ring manungkulan,” Diokno said.
“Because this power comes directly from the Constitution, no one — no person, no law, and no administrative rule — can limit or supersede it. I repeat: nothing and no one can handcuff this Court’s power to try and decide this impeachment case,” he added.
Diokno cited the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, during which the Senate examined financial records as part of the proceedings.
“No one can dictate to this Impeachment Court how to exercise the exclusive power to decide what constitutes an impeachable offense,” he said.
The defense opposed the motions, arguing that the prosecution was attempting to conduct an extensive search for evidence without adequate legal basis.
Defense spokesperson Michael Poa said the subpoena requests covered nearly two decades, including periods when Duterte-Carpio occupied positions that were not subject to impeachment.
He also argued that the Bank Secrecy Law does not automatically permit the disclosure of financial records simply because an impeachment trial is pending.
“Meaning hindi porke’t may exception for impeachment puwede na kaagad natin buksan ang lahat ng bank records na hinihingi ng prosecution. Why? Because, Your Honor, this exception does not dispense with constitutional safeguards, it does not abolish the right to due process. Dapat mayroon pa rin tayong basehan,” Poa said.
Poa further stressed that Manases Carpio is a private citizen who is not subject to impeachment proceedings.
“Your Honors, we agree with them, no one is above the law. But in the same manner, no one must fall below or be outside the protection of the law,” he said.
“Impeachment is indeed a powerful constitutional tool. But Your Honors, impeachment is not a magic word or a magic wand that one can just wave to transform an illegal act into a legal act, to transform unlawful access to lawful access,” he added./PN
