THE House prosecution on Wednesday questioned Vice President Sara Duterte’s supposed “loose investment” in GenCorp Industries Inc., saying her own defense witness had raised more questions about the payments she received from the company during her vice presidency.
House impeachment prosecutor and Manila Rep. Joel Chua said Suzette Balucanag-Punay, in-house counsel of GenCorp and Metro Chow Foods Corp., initially maintained that Duterte had no shares in GenCorp but later acknowledged that she had an investment linked to one of its Jollibee branches.
“Akala ko nga testigo namin ’yun, eh. Akala ko testigo ng prosecution ’yung nagsasabi, eh,” Chua said at a press briefing.
“Actually, ’yung mga naging statement niya, mas lalo pang maraming nagtanong,” added Chua, chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
Chua also questioned Punay’s use of the term “loose investment” to describe Duterte’s financial interest.
“Ano ’yung loose investment?” he asked.
Punay earlier testified before the Senate impeachment court that Duterte’s investment began in 2007 through Davao Bounty Foods Corp. and was later carried over to GenCorp through successive operators of the Jollibee Times Square branch in Davao City.
She maintained that Duterte’s investment was limited to that branch and did not make her a GenCorp stockholder.
However, Punay confirmed that Duterte received P2.14 million from GenCorp between 2022 and 2025, during her term as vice president.
She described the payments as returns of capital but admitted under questioning by Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero that she could not verify the original investment amount or produce written records explaining its nature.
Chua said the testimony had failed to clear up questions about Duterte’s financial ties to GenCorp.
Forensic accounting expert Alexander Cabrera earlier estimated that Duterte had a 20% interest in GenCorp, attributing P212.63 million in alleged undeclared income from the company to her between 2023 and 2025.
The amount formed part of Cabrera’s findings of at least P817.87 million in alleged undeclared assets and unexplained wealth.
The defense disputes Cabrera’s calculations and maintains that Duterte’s investment was limited to the Jollibee Times Square branch.
The Senate impeachment court is hearing the defense’s evidence under Article II, the remaining impeachment charge involving alleged unexplained wealth.
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