The 12th week of the ongoing impeachment trial against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte concluded on Tuesday, with proceedings focusing on alleged sources of large amounts of money that passed through bank accounts reportedly owned by Duterte and her husband.
Prosecution witness Gerardo del Rosario, Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Company Registration and Monitoring Department director, testified on Monday that 18 firms are tied to Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio.
Del Rosario said the vice president was named in the registration records of the companies, some of which are listed in Duterte’s annual Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
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Why is it illegal?
Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the President, Vice President, Cabinet members, and their deputies or assistants are prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in any business or holding financial interests in government contracts during their tenure.
The provision was a reaction to the widespread belief that government officials used political power to engage in corrupt business practices during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos Sr, father of current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, from 1970s to mid-1980s.
Del Rosario said SEC records do not show that Duterte divested herself of any interest in the corporations after she was elected vice president in mid-2022. He testified that corporate filings showed Duterte remained listed as an incorporator, stockholder, and member of the board of directors of many companies from 2022 through 2025 while serving as vice president.
He added that 10 of the 18 linked companies had no declared dividends on record despite billions of pesos in sales. The companies operated popular fast-food chains such as Jollibee and Chowking at strategic sites in Davao City.
How did these companies allegedly benefit from Duterte’s power?
One company tied to Duterte’s name is GenCorp Industries Inc. The company’s SEC registration does not mention her name among its beneficial owners, but the vice president herself mentioned the company in her SALN as one of her assets.
Tuesday’s prosecution witness, Rendell Sopeña, division chief of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), told the impeachment court that GenCorp had been awarded 49 government contracts.
Among the offices that awarded GenCorp contracts were the Region 11 office of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the City Government of Davao, where Duterte’s youngest brother, Sebastian, has been mayor since 2022.
Sopeña testified that the city government’s 19 contracts with GenCorp were worth over P33.2 million (Dh2 million).
The vice president was herself a multi-term mayor of Davao City. Their family had been a political dynasty in the region since the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. five decades ago.
In a statement, current Davao City mayor Sebastian Duterte, younger brother of Sara, said the transactions were above board and that the procurement processes used competitive bidding and small-value purchases. The local chief executive, however, did not comment on his sister’s SALN disclosure as a GenCorp co-owner.
Sebastian had been summoned to testify as a hostile prosecution witness next week.
In earlier impeachment hearings, the prosecution revealed that Vice President Duterte’s overall declared net worth grew from P7.25 million (Dh439,000) in 2007 to P98.66 million (Dh5.9 million) by 2025.
The Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) data tracked an aggregate volume of P6.77 billion (Dh396.26 million) in total gross financial movements across accounts associated with Duterte and her husband between 2006 and 2025.
Of this amount, P3.77 billion (Dh220.67 million) is tied to Duterte herself, the prosecutors noted. They said the amount reflects gross financial flow rather than net worth or direct business valuation.
Why are the testimonies important?
The prosecutors said this week’s testimonies are important in establishing Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth, false SALN, and continuing business interests despite the constitutional ban.
At the trial’s start, public prosecutors alleged that the vice president amassed unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income and failed to truthfully disclose her assets.
In this week’s two-day hearing, Duterte’s defence panel aggressively challenged the testimonies and documents presented by the witnesses, dismissing the revelations as legally incomplete and speculative, and as being designed to influence public opinion.
The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, is scheduled to debate the threshold of votes needed to convict the vice president on Wednesday. Her allies are expected to insist on 16 votes, which corresponds to two-thirds of the 24-member impeachment court.
Duterte’s political opponents, however, are expected to argue for an adjusted and lower number, depending on the number of senators present during voting.
Last week, three retired Philippine Supreme Court chief justices, acting as “friends of the court”, argued for an adjustable threshold, while an associate justice insisted on 16 votes.
