Gencorp Industries Inc., a firm linked to Vice President Sara Duterte, was awarded 11 contracts by the Davao City government that did not undergo public bidding, according to an official of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), the web portal for public procurements.
PhilGEPS Division Chief Rendell Sopeña said that of the 15 contracts Gencorp received from Davao City from 2022 to 2026, four were awarded through public bidding, while 11 contracts went through negotiated small-value procurement.
Sopeña said the negotiated, small-value procurement contracts were estimated to be worth P7 million to P8 million.
All 15 Davao City contracts of Gencorp were worth P34.216 million.
Davao City is headed by Mayor Sebastian Duterte, the Vice President’s brother.
Gencorp has been linked to the Vice President because she declared in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth that she is a stockholder.
Her name does not appear in Gencorp’s records filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros asked Sopeña if it was proper for a local government to award contracts to a company in which a sibling of the mayor holds a business interest.
But Sopeña said he has no personal knowledge of this or the legal issues.
He earlier said PhilGEPS cannot determine whether contracts awarded were irregular, as it only serves as a repository of procurement data.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo also asked about a potential conflict of interest with the Davao City contracts since Duterte is allegedly linked to Gencorp.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian raised a similar point, noting that the country’s procurement laws require bidders to submit a sworn affidavit attesting that they have no conflict of interest.
Lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said she agreed with Tulfo who had implied three possible violations by Duterte, which are owning a business, operating a business and having a conflict of interest.
“In fact, ito ho kung sa larong tong-its, three hits po ito,” Luistro said.
Her last remark was struck off the record by Presiding Officer Sen. Francis Escudero.