Baste says he wouldn't have okayed GenCorp contracts if he had known VP Sara link

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Davao City Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte said he would not have allowed the city government to award P33 million worth of contracts to GenCorp. Industries Inc., if he had known that his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, had a business interest in the firm.

The mayor made the testimony on Tuesday at the impeachment trial of the Vice President as a hostile witness for the prosecution.

“I would not allow it,” the mayor said when asked about it by Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero.

The Vice President declared GenCorp. Industries Inc. as one of her business interests in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth in 2024 and 2025, but Mayor Dutete maintained that he wasn’t aware of his sister's declarations or stake in the company.

Earlier, private prosecutor Theodore Te asked the mayor if he is aware of the Constitutional prohibition on the President and Vice President having business interests and conflict of interest.

Duterte said he was aware.

Te went on to ask if the mayor was in the position to tell the Vice President that she should not engage with GenCorp. due to conflict of interest, but defense counsel Justin Gular objected by citing that the question was speculative, assumes facts and delves into hypotheticals.

Escudero ruled that Te should reform his question, prompting him to ask the mayor if he would have been in the position to call out his sister’s ties to GenCorp. as the head of procurement entity and someone aware of the Constitutional prohibition on financial interest.

Gular again objected to the question as being “speculative.”

Te argued against Gular by saying it wasn’t speculative and anchored on Duterte’s testimony.

“He has testified that he knows that provision. He is the son of a former president. He is the brother of a current vice president. And, Your Honor, I'm simply asking him if he is in a position to inform his sister,” Te said.

At this point, Escudero took over the questioning “to abbreviate the proceedings,” prompting the mayor to say he would not have granted GenCorp. contracts if he was aware of his sister’s links to the firm. — BM, GMA News