Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte said he only heard about Gencorp Industries Inc., which received 19 contracts from the city government, when it was mentioned in the impeachment trial of his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.
The Vice President has been linked to Gencorp because she declared herself a stockholder of the firm in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth.
This raised questions of conflict of interest in her impeachment trial.
Sebastian testified as a hostile witness in the Vice President’s impeachment trial.
Private prosecutor Theodore Te asked Sebastian if he was familiar with Gencorp, which he mentioned in a statement he issued on September 21 saying the city’s contracts with the firm were aboveboard.
Sebastian said he heard about it in the trial.
“When it has been raised in this court, but before that, no,” he said.
Te clarified whether he meant his knowledge of Gencorp was limited to the reference to the company in this court and that he had no independent knowledge of it.
Sebastian said that was the case.
In his earlier statement, he defended the city’s awarding of contracts to Gencorp, saying everything was aboveboard and he and other local government officials did not know that the firm was linked to his sister, the Vice President.
Gencorp came under scrutiny in the Vice President’s impeachment trial in relation to unexplained wealth allegations.