By Billy Begas
‘On the right side of history’: Lorna Kapunan unfazed by SC challenge over Sara Duterte’s financial records
House private prosecutor Atty. Lorna Kapunan expressed confidence in the House prosecution panel’s legal position on seeking access to Vice President Sara Duterte’s financial records in the Senate impeachment trial.
“We’re very confident that we are on the right side of history,” said Kapunan in reaction to possible petition to be filed before the Supreme Court (SC) to prevent the opening of Duterte’s financial records from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
The House prosecution panel requested the Senate impeachment court to issue subpoenas for the tax records of Duterte. The defense counsel opposed the request, claiming that it would violate Duterte’s rights to confidentiality and due process.
Kapunan said, “Everybody has a right to question, you know. It is a part of due process. They can, of course, question.”
“We cannot predict how the Supreme Court decides,” said Kapunan in a press conference on Thursday. “But on the part of the prosecution and the state, the prosecutors representing the Republic, the state, we’re very confident.”
The House prosecution panel has argued that an impeachment trial falls within recognized exceptions to bank secrecy and tax confidentiality laws.
It also maintains that the production of the records would not violate due process because the defense would have the opportunity to examine and challenge the evidence before the Senate impeachment court.
The Senate impeachment court has yet to rule on the prosecution’s request for subpoenas.
During the impeachment trial in 2012, the Senate allowed the disclosure of former SC Chief Justice Renato Corona’s bank deposits and required the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to produce his tax returns.
