HOUSE Committee on Public Accounts Chair Terry L. Ridon of Bicol Saro Party-list said Monday that the Committee on Justice has every right to subpoena the tax records and financial documents of both Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases R. Carpio.

“Vice President Sara Duterte and Atty. Manases Carpio cannot restrain the truth relating to their personal and business incomes, as reflected in the Income Tax Returns and related tax records submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR),” Ridon, a lawyer from the University of the Philippines (UP) and member of the House Committee on Jusice, said.

“The House Committee on Justice has the lawful authority to compel the production of documentary evidence relevant to its determination of whether probable cause exists to transmit Articles of Impeachment to the Senate,” Ridon added.

The statement came after Carpio filed a petition before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court seeking a 72-hour or 20-day temporary restraining order on the justice committee’s March 31 subpoena directing the BIR to testify on his law firm’s annual income tax returns from 2007 to 2025.

In his petition, Carpio argued that the Committee on Justice has “no jurisdiction, power nor authority to issue a subpoena,” and that he should not be subject to one as a private citizen with no direct role in the vice president’s impeachment proceedings.

Ridon countered that the BIR documents and tax records are necessary for the justice committee to assess whether probable cause exists that Duterte committed impeachable offenses — including betrayal of public trust — and specifically whether she possesses unexplained or undeclared wealth.

“These tax records are relevant in determining whether the Vice President may have amassed unexplained wealth and whether such wealth was accurately reflected in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth during her public service,” he said.

Ridon further stressed that claims of privacy and confidentiality “cannot override” Congress’ constitutional powers when it is exercising its mandate as a “fact-finding authority” in the impeachment process.

The Committee on Justice also subpoenaed the Securities and Exchange Commission for records of companies allegedly linked to Duterte and her husband, and requested the Office of the Ombudsman to furnish certified true copies of the vice president’s SALN from 2007 to 2025 — documents the complainants say will reveal discrepancies between her declared earnings and her lawful income.

The panel is set to hold its first hearing on April 14, with representatives from the SEC, BIR, Commission on Audit, Ombudsman, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine Statistics Authority expected to attend and testify on the evidence cited in the impeachment complaints.

“Tama na ang palusot. The Duterte-Carpio tax documents will see the light of day during the House impeachment hearings,” Ridon said.