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MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte received a total of P2.14 million as “return of capital” from 2022 to 2025 from GenCorp Industries Inc., a corporation tied to her and her husband, its legal counsel said at the resumption of her impeachment trial yesterday.
Suzette Balucanag-Punay, GenCorp and Metro City Chow Foods’ in-house counsel, told the impeachment court that Duterte received the amount as “return of capital” through bank checks from GenCorp.
Punay earlier told the court that GenCorp gave Duterte P337,500 in 2022, P555,750 in 2023, P612,419 in 2024 and P636,700 in 2025, when she was already Vice President.
Questioning Punay, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said, “The loose investment started in 2007. But in 2022, 2023, 2024, at 2025, the Vice President earned a total of P2.14 million from what you call ‘return of capital,’ right?” Punay replied in the affirmative.
Hontiveros then maintained that based on documents submitted to the court, the money the Vice President received in the years covered by the disbursements were not mere “return of capital” or payouts for “loose investments.”
During her testimony, Punay and defense counsels used the term “loose investment” repeatedly and although not an official financial term, they explained that this represented undocumented contributions by Duterte to Jollibee Times Square branch in Davao City.
With Punay confirming that Duterte had profited from the setup, Hontiveros emphasized that corporate payouts such as those received by Duterte in those years violated the 1987 Constitution, which strictly mandates that the Vice President “cannot directly or indirectly … participate in any business.”
Asked whether the Vice President violated the Constitution with her business interests, Punay initially replied she was “not sure,” but later backtracked when reminded of specific provisions in the Constitution.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan then pointed out that it was incorrect for Punay to testify that the Vice President had no position or participation in any of GenCorp businesses.
“But receiving benefits, you are a recipient, then you have a role, a beneficiary of GenCorp. So it’s not correct to say that there is no participation or no role whatsoever,” he said.
“Let’s be clear here. You said – you were so categorical, you were so clear that there’s no participation whatsoever. And now it’s turning out, there is one – as a recipient,” Pangilinan said. “As a recipient, yes,” Punay added.
Admission
Hontiveros also argued that the Vice President had already declared in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) that she had business interests in GenCorp from 2024 to 2025 and it would be incorrect for her counsels to claim that she had no business interests in the company.
“She made an admission already,” Hontiveros said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Duterte’s own notarized wealth declaration carries heavier evidentiary weight than standard corporate records.
Lacson raised the matter during debates wherein the prosecution pressed Punay on whether Duterte has financial ties to Jollibee franchises owned by GenCorp.
In her SALN, Duterte listed herself as a shareholder of GenCorp but Punay – testifying for the defense – said the Vice President was not an actual stockholder because her “unilateral declaration” in the SALN does not make her a stockholder.
This prompted Lacson to ask the witness which document holds more probative weight – a notarized document like SALN or a General Information Sheet (GIS) issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“As far as I know, an admission against interest has greater probative weight or admissibility weight than GIS,” he said.
“I know somebody who got jailed for an admission made on TV. This SALN is notarized,” Lacson said, apparently referring to Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who is in detention for plunder.
Defense counsel Justin Gular manifested that an “admission against interest” is merely an exception to the hearsay rule, not a rule for determining the probative weight of evidence, adding that such weighing is solely the prerogative of the senator-judges.
Prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan quickly rebutted the defense, quoting Section 27 of the Rules of Court on testimonial evidence to assert that an admission is the highest form of evidence.
“Not only is (the SALN) a public document, if we weigh two public documents, the General Information Sheet that is certified by the corporate secretary and not by the VP, compared to a SALN that is certified to and sworn to personally by the VP herself... a public document personally sworn and subscribed to by the person – the VP herself – carries higher weight,” Kapunan argued.
‘Mind your preposition’
Presiding officer Francis Escudero acknowledged that both counsels’ arguments were correct, but reminded them that it is the senator-judges who would decide on the conflicting documents.
Escudero earlier during the hearing sought to clarify from the defense witness if what she meant was “return on capital” and not “return of capital.”
For Escudero, P2.14-million earnings from a Jollibee branch represented not merely a return of her P46,875 investment.
“Please take note of the preposition. This is not return of investment. This is return on investment, the capital earned already,” Escudero said.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo castigated the witness for either feigning ignorance or being incompetent in her testimony on Duterte’s business interests in GenCorp.
“You should have at least asked from GenCorp a copy of the canceled check so you would be ready here. It seems to me that 15 years as a lawyer, you’re still not prepared – or just feigning ignorance,” he said.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo flagged Duterte’s “conflict of interest,” citing GenCorp’s P1-billion sales from 2022 to 2024 when Duterte was already Vice President, up from P28 million in 2021.
Punay said that with GenCorp’s five Jollibee branches, “it follows that the income would increase.” But she said she has no personal knowledge of the earnings hike because she is not part of operations.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian confronted the witness about the Vice President’s apparent conflict of interest in GenCorp., citing the firm’s 19 contracts with the Davao City government where her brother Sebastian Duterte is the incumbent mayor.
Sen. Imee Marcos explained the Vice President’s P2.14-million “return of capital.”
“If you returned what was borrowed, the original principal amount is being restored, and it’s like paid-in capital or equity or refinancing. And when the corporation is sold, it becomes part of sales proceeds,” Marcos said. – Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Delon Porcalla
