Former Iloilo representative Niel Tupas Jr., who served as lead prosecutor in the impeachment trial of late Chief Justice Renato Corona, said Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte is not legally important as a witness in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, but only for political optics to draw public attention to the proceedings.
Tupas made the assessment in an interview with Bilyonaryo News Channel’s At The Forefront hosted by Atty. Karen Jimeno.
Asked how important Baste would be as a witness on the alleged ill-gotten wealth charge, Tupas said: “For me, not that important.”
He explained that Sara Duterte’s name does not appear in the Davao City government’s transactions with GenCorp Industries Inc., which is at the center of the prosecution’s case on her alleged business interests.
“But I think for political optics, important dito,” Tupas said.
Jimeno noted that Baste’s appearance could also attract more viewers to the impeachment proceedings.
Tupas agreed, saying his testimony could help keep public attention on a highly technical and boring part of the trial.
“Siguro para hindi na makatulog rin yung mga naroroon kasi sobrang boring na talaga. Because technical. And we expect it to be boring kasi technical,” he said.
“Legally, I don’t think it’s important. But political optics, important yan,” Tupas added.
He said the prosecution’s main task under the article is to establish the connection between the Vice President and GenCorp Industries Inc.
The Senate impeachment court has subpoenaed Baste to testify from Sept. 28 to 30 and ordered him to bring Davao City records involving transactions with GenCorp and other entities.
The subpoena came as the prosecution presented evidence on GenCorp’s government contracts.
A PhilGEPS official testified that the company secured 49 government contracts worth P35.878 million from July 2022 to June 2026, including 15 contracts with the Davao City government worth P34.2 million.
Baste has said he and other Davao City officials were unaware of Sara Duterte’s alleged interest in GenCorp and that the city entered into 19 contracts with the company worth more than P33.2 million.#