MANILA — House prosecution spokesperson Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s testimony on GenCorp Industries Inc. raises questions about Vice President Sara Duterte’s declared business interest in the company and its contracts with the Davao City government.
During the Vice President’s impeachment trial on Tuesday, September 29, Mayor Duterte testified that he was unaware his sister had declared an interest in GenCorp. He said he would not have allowed the city government to award contracts to the company had he known of the connection.
GenCorp secured 19 contracts with the Davao City government worth more than P33 million beginning in 2022, according to Mayor Duterte. The Vice President listed GenCorp as a business interest in her 2024 and 2025 Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, while SEC records presented during the proceedings did not identify her as an incorporator, director or stockholder.
“It speaks about her character now, because if we’re following the logic in the explanation and testimony of Mayor Baste Duterte, she’s even willing to put her brother in so much trouble as long as they can win contracts in Davao City,” Adiong said, according to a quote card published Wednesday.
The statement reflects the prosecution’s interpretation of Mayor Duterte’s testimony. The defense, however, elicited testimony from the mayor that the Vice President did not ask him for special treatment for GenCorp or intervene in Davao City government transactions involving the company.
Mayor Duterte also maintained that the GenCorp contracts were above board and said he had no knowledge of his sister’s declared interest in the firm before the issue surfaced during the impeachment proceedings.
