Witness: SALN does not prove Sara Duterte’s ownership of GenCorp

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s “unilateral declaration” that she was a stockholder of GenCorp Industries Inc. does not make her one, its  counsel told the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday.

Testifying for the defense in the impeachment trial of the vice president,  Atty. Suzette Balucanag-Punay maintained that Duterte had no stakes in the corporation.

READ: Witness: Sara Duterte had no GenCorp stake, post from 2022 to 2025

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Public prosecutor Lorna Kapunan though pointed out that the vice president herself declared  in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (Saln) that she was a stockholder of the company. 

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“So if, this is the question now attorney, if the vice president declared in her Saln that she is a shareholder of Gencorp then therefore, she has a financial,  pecuniary interest in the franchises which are owned by the company of which she is a shareholder. Correct?”Kapunan asked the witness.

Defense counsel Justin Gular objected saying the question had “no basis, speculative and misleading.”

“The witness has already previously answered that the vice president has no interest and is not a stockholder and has no interest in franchises, Your Honor,” Gular said.

READ: Sara Duterte defense lacks counter-witness on P817M asset gap — Kapunan

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Presiding Officer and Sen. Francis Escudero intervened, asking the  witness whether it would  be fair to say  that Duterte owned GenCorp since she declared it in her Saln.

“Kayo po bilang abogado, kung yun po ang nakita nyo, stockholder sa GenCorp, resonable bang interpretasyon na kasama doon lahat ng pag-aari ng GenCorp?” Escudero asked.

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(As a lawyer, if that is what you saw—that she was a stockholder in GenCorp—would it be reasonable to interpret that as including all of GenCorp’s assets?)

“O pwede mo bang ilimita lamang sa isang branch tulad ng sinabi nyo kung ang makikita nyo lamang ay yung deklarasyon ng vice president na stockholder sya ng GenCorp?” he further asked.

(Or can you limit  it to just one branch, as you mentioned, if all you can see is the vice president’s declaration that she is a stockholder of GenCorp?)

In response, the defense witness said: “Her unilateral declaration, Your Honor, will not make her a stockholder.”

Kapunan pressed the witness, asking her  how she would characterize Duterte’s Saln declaration.

“I would characterize it as an admission. And you are saying what? It is a unilateral declaration?” the prosecutor asked again.

It was  Escudero who explained to the prosecutor that the unilateral declaration mentioned by  the witness  only referred to GenCorp “but not unilateral in relation to whatever admissions the Vice President may have made in her Saln.”

Senator-judge Panfilo Lacson joined the discussion, and asked the  witness which has more admissibility and probative weight between an admission against interest, notarized, and official public documents like General Information Sheet.

“The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) records your honor,” the witness answered.

Lacson said he believes that admission against interest probative or admissibility weight, citing the Rules of Court.

“Meron nga akong kakilala sa TV lang nag-admit, nakulong eh. Ito, notarized pa ito, itong Saln,” he pointed out.

(I know someone who admitted it on TV and ended up in jail. This one, meanwhile, is even notarized—this Saln.) 

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Balucanag-Punay was called to the witness stand in relation to allegations that Duterte had amassed unexplained wealth and  did not truthfully declare all her assets. /jpv

NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generate