SEC records: Sara Duterte stayed company director after becoming VP

MANILA, Philippines— Vice President Sara Duterte remained an incorporator  and director of a company after assuming office in 2022, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) records presented during her impeachment trial on Monday.

SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department Director Gerardo del Rosario, during Day 27 of the impeachment trial, testified that Duterte owned a 20 percent stake in Metro City Chow Foods Corp. from 2016 to 2025.

She was listed as one of the company’s incorporators when it was established in 2016 and served on its board from 2018 to 2025.

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READ: Sara Duterte’s business interests, gov’t deals face scrutiny

Duterte took her oath as vice president on June 30, 2022.

During direct examination, private prosecutor, lawyer Erwin Matib, asked Del Rosario whether a vice president could continue serving as a company director after assuming office.

“Lumalabas po dito  na member  po ng board of directors si Vice President Sara mula 2022 hanggang 2025.  Kelan po na elect na vice president si respondent Sara Duterte?” Matib asked.

(It appears here that Vice President Sara was a member of the board of directors from 2022 to 2025. When was respondent Sara Duterte elected vice president?”)

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Del Rosario pointed out that Duterte was elected president on June 30, 2022. 

“And bilang abogado pwede po ba  na ang  isang bise presidente kapag nanumpa na sya ay maari po ba syang maging member of the board of directors ng kumpanya?”  the prosecutor asked again.

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(And as a lawyer, is a vice president allowed to serve as a member of the board of directors of a company after taking the oath of office?)

Before the witness could respond, defense lawyer Justin Gular objected, saying that the question called for an opinion  “from a witness that is clearly incompetent.”

But Presiding Officer and Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero allowed the witness to respond.

“Actually, I’ll allow it counsel because I’m also interested to find out if they flagged it or not. Because if it’s indeed illegal, they should have flagged it if that’s the opinion of the SEC,” Escudero  pointed out.

“Meron po tayong provision sa ating Konstitution na nagsasabi na ang presidente, vise president, yung  cabinet member, maging ang kanilang mga deputies  ay hind maaring, hindi pahintulutan ng Konstitution ng mag hold ng iba pang opisina, magkaroon ibang trabaho, mag engage ng ibang profession, magakroon ng business  interest  upang  maiwasan  po yung conflict of interest,”  del Rosario answered.

(The Constitution provides that the President, Vice President, Cabinet members and their deputies are not allowed to hold any other office, engage in another profession, or have business interests to prevent conflicts of interest.)

Matib read the full provision cited by the witness: Article VII, Section 13 of the  1987  Constitution, which  states that “The president, vice president, the members of the Cabinet, and their deputies and  assistants shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure.”

“They shall not during said tenure directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office,” the said provision further states.

Escudero though noted that the said provision did not mention the words “business interests.”

“Yun po ang pagkaintindi ko, mag-participate sa negosyo,”  the witness said.

(That is my understanding—that they cannot participate in a business.)

“Partcipate in business, yes it’s there. But  to have  a business interest, do you see it?” Escudero asked. 

“Siguro  po mali lang ang Tagalog ko,”  the SEC official explained.

(Perhaps my Tagalog was just incorrect.)

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Duterte has been accused of amassing unexplained wealth, failing to disclose all her  and husband’s assets in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN”), and also failing  to divest all her business interests during her tenure as vice president./dp