(Screengrab from Senate livestream)
MANILA – Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo on Friday, October 9, questioned the timing of a compensation payment received by Vice President Sara Duterte from the Davao City government in 2023, raising concerns over whether the amount should have been reflected in her earlier financial records.
During the Senate impeachment trial, Tulfo asked Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) official Anne Loraine Garcia-Marquez whether compensation received in 2023 for services allegedly rendered in 2022 should have been declared earlier as an account receivable.
The senator specifically asked whether an amount already known to be due to the taxpayer should have been recorded before its actual payment.
“Kung alam na po ng taxpayer na may receivable po siya na amount, then siguro po dapat po nakalagay din po,” Garcia-Marquez replied.
However, she clarified that audited financial statements generally cover business-related transactions and that the circumstances surrounding the payment would need further examination.
The issue arose after BIR records presented to the impeachment court showed that Duterte received compensation income from the Davao City government in 2023, despite having stepped down as city mayor on June 30, 2022, to assume the vice presidency.
Garcia-Marquez, chief of staff of BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza, confirmed that the compensation was reflected in a BIR Form 2316 and amounted to Php 82,327.45 in gross income.
Form 2316, officially known as the Certificate of Compensation Payment/Tax Withheld, records compensation received by an employee and the corresponding taxes withheld by the employer.
Under BIR regulations, employers generally provide the certificate to employees by January 31 of the following year.
Garcia-Marquez explained that the document carries the signatures of both the employer and employee, with the employee’s signature indicating acknowledgment of the compensation received.
Tulfo’s questioning focused on whether the payment was attributable solely to 2023 or represented compensation for Duterte’s previous service in Davao City.
However, the proceedings did not establish whether the amount should legally have been recorded as a receivable in 2022 or whether its declaration in 2023 violated tax regulations.
Garcia-Marquez repeatedly emphasized that the BIR’s examination remains ongoing and that any possible tax violations could only be determined after the audit.
“During audit, Your Honor, we will know,” she said.
The BIR official also confirmed that the agency is conducting tax examinations involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
The financial records are being examined as part of the Senate impeachment trial, where House prosecutors are presenting evidence concerning the Vice President’s income, assets and financial disclosures.
