Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte defended the city’s awarding of contracts to Gencorp Industries Inc., saying everything was aboveboard and he and other local government officials did not know that the firm was linked to his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.
Sara had declared business interests in Gencorp (formerly Timesquare Bee Foods and Great Jolly Times Food) in her statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth starting 2016. She listed herself as a stockholder.
Gencorp came under scrutiny in the Vice President’s impeachment trial in relation to unexplained wealth allegations.
An official of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) said on Tuesday that Gencorp won P34.2 million in contracts from Davao City from July 2022 to June 2026.
Sebastian said that aside from not knowing about his sister’s link to Gencorp, its corporate documents do not bear her name.
“I, and all other officials and employees of the City Government of Davao, never had any knowledge of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte holding an interest in GENCORP INDUSTRIES INC. Furthermore, neither the name Sara Zimmerman Duterte nor the surname ‘Duterte’ appears in any of the official documents, such as, among others, the Articles of Incorporation, submitted by GENCORP INDUSTRIES INC. across the 19 contracts and transactions in question,” he said in a statement.
A Securities and Exchange Commission official said Duterte did not appear in Gencorp’s articles of incorporation.
Sebastian said the proper processes were followed when contracts were awarded to Gencorp.
He said four contracts were awarded through competitive bidding, while 15 were executed via small value procurement as legally permitted.
“In every instance, GENCORP INDUSTRIES INC. was rigorously evaluated and determined to have submitted the lowest calculated responsive bid or offer,” he said.
According to Sebastian, Davao City awarded 19 contracts with Gencorp worth P33.26 million.
This differed slightly from the testimony of the PhilGEPS official.