No paper trail for original GenCorp investment — Sara spox
Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp has no written documents to prove her alleged 2007 investment in a Davao City Jollibee branch, which it says accounts for the payments she received from GenCorp Industries Inc., her spokesperson admitted Wednesday.
Lawyer Paolo A. Panelo said neither GenCorp nor the defense could produce documents establishing the original investment, which he claimed had been carried over through several companies before reaching GenCorp.
“Unfortunately, wala pong written document na nagpapatunay nitong investment na ito,” Panelo said, referring to the testimony of GenCorp in-house counsel Suzette Balucanag-Punay before the Senate impeachment court.
Panelo, however, argued that Duterte's decision to declare the business interest in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), despite the absence of supporting documents, showed she was not hiding it.
“Dahil honest siya, and she knows that she has this investment in this specific branch ... dineclare niya pa rin sa kanyang SALN,” he said.
He traced the alleged investment to Davao Bounty Times in 2007, saying it was subsequently transferred to Jolly Great Times, then Timesquare Bee Foods Corp., before being carried over to GenCorp.
Panelo maintained that Duterte's financial interest was limited to the Jollibee Times Square branch and that the payments she received from GenCorp represented the return of her original capital, not dividends.
He also denied that Duterte had any shareholding, official position or management role in GenCorp, saying her only connection to the company was the return of her alleged investment.
Panelo likewise rejected suggestions that the payments could constitute bribes, arguing that Duterte would have had no reason to declare them in her SALN if they were illegal.
“Kung suhol po 'yan, bakit po i-declare sa kanyang SALN?” he said.
Punay testified earlier Wednesday that Duterte neither owned shares nor held a corporate position in GenCorp in 2022 and 2023. Her name did not appear in the company's General Information Sheets during the period.
She also testified that GenCorp did not declare dividends from 2022 to 2025, supporting the defense's position that the payments to Duterte were not dividend distributions.
The issue has figured in the impeachment proceedings as House prosecutors examine Duterte's declared business interests, her alleged financial links to GenCorp and the company's government transactions.
Forensic financial analyst Alexander Cabrera earlier attributed a 20% stake in GenCorp to Duterte and estimated that more than P200 million in company inflows from 2023 to 2025 could be linked to her. The defense has disputed the attribution.
The prosecution's allegations involving Duterte's financial interests are part of Article II of the impeachment complaint, which remains before the Senate impeachment court.###