THE defense witness was unable to state the amount of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s investment in GenCorp Industries Inc. when asked by Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero to explain why the company was making payments to her.
Atty. Suzette Balucanag-Punay, presented as in-house counsel for GenCorp Industries Inc. and Metro City Chow Foods Corporation, testified that P2,142,369.14 was disbursed to Duterte from 2022 to 2025. She described those payments as return of capital linked to an investment in the Jollibee Times Square branch.
“What’s the basis of giving her anything?” Escudero asked during Wednesday’s impeachment hearing.
Punay traced the payments to an investment carried over through earlier branch operators. She said Duterte’s contributions preceded the start of the outlet’s operations.
“What is the definition of loose investment, ma’am?” Escudero asked. He followed up by asking what the term meant.
“I termed it as a loose investment, Your Honor,” Punay replied.
Escudero then asked, “So magkano po ba yung investment na yun?” He asked what document, if any, supported the contribution.
“Unfortunately, Your Honor, I could not verify also the amount because there are no written records for this investment,” Punay answered.
Her response concerned the original investment, separate from the transaction summary she had cited for GenCorp’s payments. The summary and yearly figures supplied an account of the disbursements, while Escudero’s questions sought the amount and documentation behind the contribution being returned.
Escudero next asked whether she did not know why the payments were given as return on investment and did not know the nature of the Times Square investment. Punay answered yes to the compound question and confirmed again when he asked whether his summary was correct.
The presiding officer also asked why she attributed the payments to Times Square rather than other branches. Punay pointed to the checks and confirmed that each branch had a separate account. During direct examination, she had identified the Times Square branch bank account as their source.
Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros had also requested a copy of the document Punay was reading about return of capital. The court called a lunch recess after the questioning.
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