Baste Duterte says ‘no knowledge’ of VP Sara’s ties to GenCorp

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte said he was unaware that his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, held an interest in GenCorp Industries Inc., even as a government procurement official testified that the food catering company secured 15 contracts worth P34.2 million while he was mayor.

Baste’s claim of ignorance drew a sharp response from private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan, who said the mayor “ought to know” about the business dealings of a company transacting with City Hall and called his admission a “confession.”

The Senate impeachment court on Tuesday subpoenaed Baste to testify from Sept. 28 to 30 and ordered him to bring Davao City records on its transactions with GenCorp.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Palace on Sara Duterte corporate ties: No one is above the law

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

Baste’s role in Davao City’s procurement dealings came under scrutiny as the prosecution pursued its case that Sara failed to disclose and divest her business interests while serving as Vice President.

49 government contracts

Rendell Sopeña, chief of the Electronic Government Procurement Operations Division of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), testified on Tuesday that GenCorp had secured 49 government contracts worth P35.878 million from July 21, 2022, to June 23, 2026.

Fifteen of those contracts, worth P34.2 million, were with the Davao City government, Sopeña said. The company also had 33 contracts with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and one with the Davao regional office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Sopeña was presented by House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro as the fourth prosecution witness for Article 2 of Sara’s impeachment case, which involves alleged unexplained wealth, failure to truthfully declare assets and failure to divest business interests.

Article continues after this advertisement

Luistro noted that Baste, who was mayor when the city contracts were entered into, approved the Bids and Awards Committee resolution related to the transactions.

‘I never knew’

Baste, in a statement issued on Monday, said the city’s transactions with GenCorp were all above board and corrected earlier reports that put their total value at P14.32 million.

Article continues after this advertisement

He said there were actually 19 contracts worth P33.26 million, 13 of which had been completed and six were ongoing.

“I, and all other officials and employees of the City Government of Davao, never had any knowledge of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte holding an interest in GenCorp Industries Inc.,” he said.

Baste also said neither “Sara Zimmerman Duterte” nor the surname “Duterte” appeared in GenCorp’s corporate documents submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the city transactions.

“Any claim otherwise shall be duly supported with verified evidence and reliable documents,” he said.

“All 19 transactions have been duly processed, reported, and published on the [PhilGEPS] portal,” Baste said.

SEC records vs SALNs

But SEC records presented in the impeachment trial showed a discrepancy with Sara’s own disclosures.

Gerardo del Rosario, director of the SEC’s Company Registration and Monitoring Department, testified on Monday that Sara did not appear as an incorporator or stockholder of GenCorp in its Articles of Incorporation and General Information Sheets submitted to the commission from 2020 to 2025.

Her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs), however, showed that she declared herself an incorporator or stockholder of GenCorp from 2016 to 2025.

The SALNs were authenticated in the trial on Sept. 15 by lawyer Karen Batu, officer in charge of the Records Division of the Office of the Ombudsman.

The conflicting records are being cited by the prosecution in its case concerning Sara’s alleged failure to disclose and divest her business interests.

Article VII, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution prohibits the President, Vice President and Cabinet members from holding certain business interests while in office.

‘He ought to know’

In a chance interview outside the courtroom, Kapunan said Baste’s statement that he did not know about Sara’s GenCorp interest did not settle the issue of his responsibility as mayor.

Asked whether his admission amounted to a failure of due diligence, Kapunan said: “Yes, if he says he does not know then the correct phrase is he ought to know as mayor.”

“The due diligence of the father of the family, that is the same standard for due diligence of public officials. In fact, higher than that—that’s accountability,” she said.

Kapunan then described Baste’s statement as a “confession.”

“It’s like a priest’s penitent. What do you do when you confess to the priest? You’re admitting your sins, right? Exactly. This is not only an admission, it is a confession,” she said.

Baste had warned against what he called “deceptive claims and orchestrated narratives” driven by political motives and urged those questioning the city’s transactions to examine the official procurement records.

“Any interested party seeking to verify the city’s transactions with GenCorp Industries Inc. or any other entity, is invited to review the official PhilGEPS website or coordinate with their office for authorized record access,” he said.

Subpoena served

The impeachment court’s subpoena requires Baste to appear at 10 a.m. from Sept. 28 to 30 to testify about matters related to the case against his sister.

It also orders him to produce certified true copies and complete electronic copies of Davao City government records involving contracts and other transactions with GenCorp and “any corporation or other entity that owns or operates a Jollibee branch or establishment.”

Two members of the Senate Office of the Sergeant at Arms personally served the subpoena in Davao City on Tuesday.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

It was the second subpoena issued to Baste’s office. The first was recalled after the impeachment court changed the schedule for the prosecution’s presentation of witnesses. —With a report from Keith Clores