Analyst stands by VP Duterte’s 20% GenCorp interest

MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution’s forensic accounting expert witness, lawyer-accountant Alexander Cabrera, stood by his finding on Monday that Vice President Sara Duterte had a 20-percent interest in GenCorp Industries Inc., even without written contracts or subscription agreements directly establishing her stake in the firm.

Cabrera, chairman emeritus of Isla Lipana & Co. (PwC Philippines), defended his findings during cross-examination by defense counsel Kristine Ferrer on the 38th day of Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial.

Ferrer had asked whether the 20-percent interest attributed to Duterte was supported by any deed of assignment, deed of subscription, or subscription agreement examined by Cabrera’s team.

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Cabrera admitted his team had no such documents but insisted on his finding that Duterte had an attributable interest in GenCorp, which operates five Jollibee franchises in Davao.

“The absence of a document is also evidence for us,” Cabrera explained in Filipino.

Duterte herself declared GenCorp among her business interests in her 2024 and 2025 statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs), but how much her actual interest was remained among the issues raised during the proceedings.

According to Cabrera, his 20-percent attribution was based partly on Duterte’s significant influence over GenCorp and her 20-percent equity interest in Metro City Chow Foods Corp., although he added that these were not the only considerations.

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Ferrer also questioned the figures in Table 15 of Cabrera’s report, including P300,000 in paid-up capital attributed to Duterte for each year from 2022 to 2024 and P262,500 for 2025.

Cabrera confirmed that these amounts were not reflected in GenCorp’s General Information Sheets (GIS) for those years.

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He also clarified that another column questioned by Ferrer referred to paid-up capital associated with Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, rather than capital paid directly into GenCorp.

During further questioning, Cabrera acknowledged that his team had not examined GenCorp’s stock and transfer book, stock certificates, or franchise agreements, nor had it independently verified the franchise costs with Jollibee Foods Corp.

He said his findings were based on the corporate and financial records available to his team.

READ: VPs ₱817.87-M wealth review covers assets, income, 3 firms

Cabrera earlier presented a forensic report identifying approximately P817.87 million in alleged unexplained wealth involving Duterte and Carpio from 2022 to 2025.

The report examined business interests linked to the couple, along with their bank records, tax documents, and other financial information.

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His findings form part of the House prosecution’s evidence under the second impeachment article, which accuses Duterte of unexplained wealth and violations of SALN disclosure requirements. /atm