Sara Duterte's GenCorp declaration may be 'Freudian slip,' says lawyer
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte's declaration that she was a stockholder of GenCorp Industries Inc. may have been a "Freudian slip" prompted by the P2.14 million she received from the company, lawyer Paolo Tamase said.
Tamase's observation followed testimony from Suzette Balucanag-Punay, in-house counsel for GenCorp and Metro City Chow Foods Corp., who told the Senate impeachment court that Duterte had no ownership stake in GenCorp despite listing herself as a stockholder in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
Punay acknowledged, however, that Duterte received more than P2 million from 2022 to 2025 in payments the defense described as a "return of capital."
In an interview one ONE News on Wednesday, November 11, Tamase distinguished between a return "of" capital, which refers to the repayment of an investor's original investment, and a return "on" capital, which refers to profits earned from that investment.
"To use, concretely, the examples from today's impeachment trial ... if the capital invested by the vice president is P48,000, then return 'of' capital would simply be giving her back the P48,000 she invested in the corporation," Tamase said.
He questioned how Duterte could have received P2.14 million if the payments were merely a return of her original investment.
Tamase described the payments as "a red flag," arguing that they raised questions about Duterte's financial interest in GenCorp despite the defense's assertion that she was not a stockholder.
"While they may have been able to explain that the vice president really was not a stockholder of GenCorp, they were able to open a new avenue that she may have business interests that were not properly declared," he said.
Alleged unexplaned wealth. The question of Duterte's financial interest in GenCorp is among the issues raised in the impeachment proceedings over her alleged unexplained wealth—the remaining impeachment article against her.
GenCorp is listed in Duterte's SALN as a company in which she holds shares, although its corporate filings do not name her as a stockholder.
The company is also alleged to have left more than P1 billion in bank inflows off its its books between 2023 and 2025.
Forensic financial analyst Alexander Cabrera, the prosecution's final witness, attributed roughly 20% of GenCorp's alleged undeclared income to Duterte, an estimate he described as "conservative."
Cabrera estimated Duterte's alleged unexplained wealth at at least P817.87 million.
His computation covered bank balances allegedly omitted from her SALN, undeclared properties, bank deposits exceeding the reported income of Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, and their estimated share of undeclared income from companies they own.
Defense drops bank witnesses. The impeachment trial was adjourned Thursday, November 12, after the defense requested the cancelation of Friday's hearing.
The defense also withdrew all 16 bank officials it had previously listed as witnesses to testify about Duterte's banking records.
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