Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan described Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s statement about the city government’s dealings with GenCorp. Industries Inc. as a “confession” during the 28th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Kapunan was referring to the mayor’s assertion that Davao City government transactions with GenCorp. totaled more than P33.2 million across 19 contracts and were conducted properly. Mayor Duterte also said that he and other city officials had “never had any knowledge of Vice President Sara Duterte holding an interest in “Gencorp. Industries Inc.”
“In fact, para maintindihan ng publiko, confession ‘yan. Parang free spirited,” Kapunan told reporters.
She elaborated on the characterization, saying, “What do you do when you confess to the priest? You admit to your sins, right? This is not only an admission. This is also a confession.”
The mayor has been ordered by the Senate impeachment court to appear as a witness in the proceedings involving his sister. The prosecution sought his testimony because of his connection to the issue surrounding GenCorp. and the Davao City government’s transactions with the company.
GenCorp. was identified by Vice President Duterte as one of her business interests in her 2024 and 2025 Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. However, Securities and Exchange Commission Company Registration and Monitoring Department Director Gerardo del Rosario testified that her name does not appear in the company’s corporate records submitted to the SEC.
Private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said Mayor Duterte’s public statement strengthens the prosecution’s reason for seeking his testimony, particularly because the transactions he acknowledged involve a company declared by the Vice President as a business interest.
“GenCorp. is in the SALN of the Vice President, she has financial interest there [as she stated in her SALN]. Now, he said himself that the Davao city entered into transactions with GenCorp., and that it is worth P30 million. All the more that we want him to take the witness stand to put those [statements] on record for the Senate impeachment court to appreciate,” Tolosa said.
“We’ll need that [on record] for the impeachment court to decide,” he added.
Kapunan declined to characterize the mayor’s remarks as an advantage for the prosecution’s impeachment case, saying doing so would amount to giving an opinion that could violate the Senate impeachment court’s sub judice rule.
“I rest my case. That’s already [calling for] an opinion. I don’t have P30,000 with me at the moment,” she said, referring to the fine imposed for violating Rule 18 of the Senate impeachment rules, which restricts the parties from publicly discussing the merits of the case.
