Defense presents BIR tax audit letters in Duterte impeachment trial

MANILA — The defense team presented copies of confidential Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) letters of authority during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday, as legal arguments over evidence admissibility continued in the Senate. The documents, issued to Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio, were displayed during the proceedings. The move followed a day of defense objections to questions about the BIR correspondence, reflecting the contentious nature of evidence presentation in the high-profile case. The impeachment trial has centered on allegations against the Vice President, with both sides disputing the relevance and admissibility of various documentary evidence. The presentation of the BIR letters marks another significant moment in the Senate proceedings, where questions of tax compliance and financial records have featured prominently in the defense strategy.