DAVAO City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte took the witness stand as a hostile witness on Day 31 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial at the Senate, where he confirmed that the local government unit (LGU) awarded 19 contracts to GenCorp Industries Inc.
The proceedings, attended by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as part of the prosecution’s push under Article II regarding allegations of unexplained wealth, zeroed in on GenCorp—a firm previously declared twice by Vice President Sara Duterte in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
Facing intense questioning from the prosecution, the mayor maintained that he had no knowledge of any business interests or the contents of his sister’s SALN, citing family privacy and stating that such matters were never discussed between them.
“Baste’s only response to several questions from both camps regarding the connection between GenCorp Industries Inc. and his brothers was ‘no’ and ‘I do not know.'”
“It’s not my responsibility to know this,” he said.
When pressed on the corporate ties, Duterte insisted that he would not have allowed any conflict of interest to occur had he known that the Vice President held shares in the company.
He explained that he did not personally scrutinize GenCorp’s corporate documents, noting, “Most of the submissions for procurement, I cannot look at all of these.”
He confirmed that he authorized Atty. Tristan Dwight Domingo, the city administrator, to sign contracts on his behalf.
The testimony also brought to light conflicting figures regarding the firm’s dealings with the local government.
While a previous witness, Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) Division Chief Rendell Sopeña, testified that 15 contracts were awarded to Gencorp, Duterte confirmed under oath that the Davao City LGU actually granted 19 contracts to the company.
Senator Go intervenes
During the proceedings, Senator-judge Christopher Lawrence Go issued a manifestation defending the Davao City mayor’s heavy workload.
Having close ties to the Duterte family and serving in the former presidential administration, Go testified to the immense volume of paperwork handled by the city chief executive, noting that this necessitates delegating authority to designated representatives.
Go also recalled the core directive of former President Rodrigo Duterte to City Hall employees: “Just do what is legal, just do what is right, you will never make a mistake.”
