Jaime T. Cruz: The business partner of Sara, Baste, and Pulong Duterte

Businessman Jaime T. Cruz also had close ties with former president Rodrigo Duterte, who once offered him the post of PhilHealth president and CEO

MANILA, Philippines – Jaime T. Cruz is not just a business partner of Vice President Sara Duterte. 

Cruz also has business ties to the Vice President’s brothers, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte.

Testifying before the impeachment court on Tuesday, September 29, Baste confirmed that he knows Cruz and that they are business partners.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) records presented during the trial show that Cruz is president of Chinese Gen Bee Food Corporation, where Baste and Pulong are members of the board. 

Cruz is also a business partner of Sara in Metro City Chow Foods Corporation, and an incorporator of several other companies that Sara declared as business interests in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).

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Rappler’s investigation also found that Cruz is among the shareholders linked to Gencorp Industries Inc., a company declared in Sara’s SALNs. The investigation revealed that Gencorp secured contracts from Davao City Hall while Baste is the mayor.

Ties to ex-president Duterte

Cruz’s ties to the Duterte family also extend to their father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

On October 15, 2019, then-president Duterte appointed Cruz as special envoy to China for trade and investments. Months before that, Duterte had offered Cruz the position of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) president and CEO. Duterte eventually appointed Ricardo Morales to lead the state health insurer.

Cruz and Gencorp president Kimberly Cruz were part of the business delegation that accompanied Duterte to his working visit to Japan in May 2019. It was during this trip when the two, representing Dohtonbori Philippines, secured a deal to operate Karayama outlets in the Philippines, as well as an agreement granting them development rights for the Dohtonbori Okonomiyaki restaurant businesss in the country. – Rappler.com