Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte said he was unaware of Vice President Sara Duterte’s connection to Gencorp Industries Inc. and said he would not have allowed the company to secure city government contracts had he known she was a stockholder.
Baste made the statement while testifying as a hostile witness during the impeachment trial involving his sister. He said he and Sara do not discuss each other’s businesses because he respects her privacy.
The mayor also said he was unaware of the businesses Sara declared in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
Baste testified that Sara did not interfere in Davao City government contracts and did not ask for favors for Gencorp.
A PhilGEPS witness said Gencorp obtained 15 contracts from Davao City with a value of ₱34.2 million. Baste, however, said the company had 19 contracts with the city.
The difference in the number of contracts was raised during Baste’s testimony. He said he did not personally examine the company’s corporate documents or all procurement submissions because of the volume of documents involved.
Baste said he relied on the city’s Bids and Awards Committee to handle the procurement process.
His testimony addressed both his knowledge of Sara’s connection to Gencorp and her alleged involvement in the company’s transactions with the city government.
Baste maintained that he had no knowledge of the connection when the contracts were processed and that Sara did not approach him to seek favorable treatment for Gencorp.
The testimony also highlighted a discrepancy between the number of Gencorp contracts cited by the PhilGEPS witness and the number given by Baste.
The impeachment trial testimony placed the company’s transactions with Davao City and Sara Duterte’s alleged connection to Gencorp under scrutiny, while Baste denied that she interfered or sought favors from the city government.
