MANILA – The House of Representatives prosecution panel presented five offers of testimony for Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) official Rendell Sopeña, culminating in the authentication and explanation of records covering more than PHP30 million in government contracts obtained by Gencorp Industries Inc.
Lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro of Batangas said the offer connected the government procurement records with Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s own declaration that she allegedly held a stockholding in Gencorp.
The prosecution offered Sopeña as a records and procurement witness. It did not ask the court, at this stage, to treat the offer itself as proof of the transactions.
Sopeña’s testimony and the documents he identifies would supply the evidence covered by the offer.
Sopeña is the division chief of the Electronic Government Procurement Operations Division under the PhilGEPS, which is under the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management.
His position places him within the office responsible for the government’s electronic procurement system and its records.
Luistro said Sopeña would establish his knowledge of procurement and the PhilGEPS system, including how the platform makes procurement information available through one electronic portal.
That purpose covers the system through which procuring government entities publish notices and procurement information. It also establishes the witness’ basis for explaining the records presented to the impeachment court.
The prosecution also offered Sopeña to authenticate the PhilGEPS records and explain how they were obtained, and explain how the electronic documents were formally submitted, recorded and extracted from the PhilGEPS system.
The prosecution likewise offered the records of Gencorp’s government transactions.
Duterte’s Dec. 31, 2024 and 2025 Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) listed Gencorp under her business interests. Both declarations described her as a stockholder whose interest was acquired in 2013.
“Kung maalala natin, itong Gencorp ay nabanggit ng Vice President Sara Duterte sa kaniyang SALN. Ang sabi ng Vice President, shareholder siya ng (To recall, Gencorp was listed by Vice President Sara Duterte in her SALN. She said she is a shareholder of) Gencorp Industries Incorporated,” Luistro said.
Securities and Exchange Commission Director Gerardo Del Rosario had earlier testified that Duterte’s name did not appear in the Gencorp incorporation papers or General Information Sheets examined in court.
The SALN entry and the SEC records supplied different information about her reported connection to the company.
Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte separately disclosed that Gencorp obtained 19 city contracts with a gross value of PHP33,263,161. He said the transactions began in 2022, with 13 completed and six ongoing, and that all were reported through PhilGEPS.
Luistro’s offer did not state the precise number or individual value of each document that Sopeña would authenticate.
The offer only identified the prosecution’s intended evidentiary point: that Gencorp had government contracts, including contracts with the Davao City government, whose combined value exceeded PHP30 million.
“Sa pamamagitan ng testigong ito, patutunayan na ang Gencorp ay may mga kontrata sa gobyerno, kabilang dito ang City Government of Davao, at sa pamamagitan ng testigong ito, patutunayan na ang mga kontratang ito ay may halagang lampas sa 30 milyong piso (Through this witness, it will be proven that Gencorp has government contracts, including with the City Government of Davao, and through this witness, it will be proven that these contracts are valued at over PHP30 million),” Luistro said. (PNA)
