In one of the more contentious side topics of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment hearings, the House Committee on Justice voted on Wednesday, April 29 not to open the sealed box of tax records submitted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) containing the income tax returns of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

The question on whether or not to open the green BIR box was first raised during the previous hearing on April 22 when the committee tackled impeachment respondent Duterte's alleged unexplained wealth and discrepancies in her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) filings.

The panel members who want the mysterious box opened are of the opinion that its contents will help the solons determine probable cause in the respondent's impeachment complaints, while those on the contrary want to play it safe and have the eventual Senate impeachment court tackle the sensitive documents instead.

After hearing the manifestations of different members, and upon the motion of impeachment endorser Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima to open the box, committee chairperson Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro called for a vote.

Six members voted to open the box, while 38 voted to keep it sealed. There were zero abstentions.

After this, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 3rd district Rep. Lorenz Defensor moved to keep the sealed box as part of the official records and have it transmitted to the Senate should the case reach the impeachment trial stage.

Senators are constitutionally mandated to convene into an impeachment court once the House submits the articles of impeachment against the respondent.

The Luistro panel has been very careful to not resemble an actual trial in its proceedings in a bid to avoid being cited for technicalities by the Supreme Court (SC).

At the crux of the matter was the National Internal Revenue Code, which requires that tax documents requested for congressional inquiry be examined in executive session and in aid of legislation.

Some of the lawmakers argued that the impeachment proceedings did not satisfy these conditions.

So contentious was the matter that De Lima's close ally in the minority bloc, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, voted against her motion. They were seated next to each other.

For Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr., the box should remain sealed and be left to the Senate to open during the impeachment trial, considering that there is overwhelming evidence that the impeachment case will proceed to a trial.

“Ang paninindigan natin: Keep it sealed for now. Hayaan nating ang Senado ang mag bukas nito bilang bahagi ng impeachment trial para buksan ang katotohanan sa tamang panahon ng paglilitis. Huwag nating pangunahan ang proseso para sa kapakanan ng ating legal system at ng ating bansa,” he said.

(Our position: Keep it sealed for now. Let the Senate open it as part of the impeachment trial to reveal the truth at the proper time of proceedings. Let us not preempt the process for the sake of our legal system and our country.)

“‘Di ba mas maganda na may suspense ika nga. Nasuri na natin ang impeachment complaints at mga nakalakip na ebidensya, at naniniwala ako if every congressman will just appreciate the pieces of evidence that has been talked about in this committee, hindi po malabo na ito ay magtagumpay sa plenaryo at makarating sa impeachment court,” he added.

(Isn’t it better to have some suspense, as they say. We have already examined the impeachment complaints and the attached evidence, and I believe that if every congressman will just appreciate the pieces of evidence discussed in this committee, it is not unlikely that this will succeed in plenary and reach the impeachment court.)

De Lima, who moved to open the box, reiterated her position during Wednesday's hearing, and argued that the committee had both the power and the constitutional mandate to examine Duterte’s tax records since the documents were subpoenaed by the House committee and were directly relevant to the unexplained wealth allegation.

“Kung exception itinuturing ang paghingi o pag-request ng appropriate House committee in aid of legislation, lalo na pong dapat payagan—lalo pong dapat irecognize ang pagkuha ng impormasyon na ‘yan while sitting in an impeachment proceedings ang komiteng ito because higher level, superior level ang status ng ating komite kapag sitting in an impeachment proceeding,” De Lima said.

(If requesting or asking for information is considered an exception in aid of legislation, then all the more it should be allowed—all the more it should be recognized by this committee while sitting in an impeachment proceeding, because the status of our committee is at a higher, superior level when sitting in an impeachment proceeding.)

She added that the committee's refusal to open and examine the income tax returns on the basis of statutory confidentiality was a "misapprehension" of the constitutional order when impeachment, she said, supersedes any legislative inquiry.