Sara Duterte’s husband seeks TRO on House panel subpoena vs couple’s tax records

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The House committee on justice subpoena involves the couple's income tax returns, as well as other relevant documents, such as VAT payments from 2007 to 2025, and other business entities linked to them

MANILA, Philippines – Lawyer Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, has filed a petition before a Quezon City court seeking a temporary restraining order against a House panel’s subpoena on their tax records.

Bicol Saro Representative Terry Ridon, a member of the House justice committee, shared this on Monday, April 13. The respondents in the petition are Speaker Bojie Dy, House justice committee chair Jinky Luistro, and Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Martin.

The subject of Carpio’s petition is the subpoena issued by the House committee on justice involving the couple’s income tax returns, as well as other relevant documents, such as VAT payments from 2007 to 2025, and other business entities linked to them.

Carpio asked the court to declare the subpoena “null and void ab initio.”

During its first formal hearing on the impeachment complaints against Duterte in March, which the Vice President did not attend, the House committee on justice approved motions requesting physical evidence from various government agencies, or compelling numerous individuals to face the panel.

Carpio claimed that the subpoena is politically motivated and violated their right against illegal search. He also noted that a private person’s tax returns “are highly confidential in nature.”

“Unless explicitly empowered by the Constitution and applicable law, no agency of government has to the authority and right to subpoena the records of a private person or entity without notice to nor prior approval of the targeted taxpayer,” he said.

Ridon said the tax records being sought by the House panel “are relevant to the determination of whether the Vice President may have betrayed public trust, committed culpable violations of the Constitution, or committed other impeachable offenses.”

He added that 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.”

The next formal hearing of the House committee on justice on the Duterte impeachment complaints is on Tuesday, April 14. – Rappler.com