Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte testified before the Senate Impeachment Court on Tuesday, confirming that key GenCorp stockholder Jaime T. Cruz was his business associate and a friend of former President Rodrigo Duterte, while asserting that he was unaware of his sister Vice President Sara Duterte’s declared financial interest in the company.
Appearing as a hostile witness, Mayor Duterte faced questioning from senator-judges regarding how GenCorp Industries Inc. repeatedly secured municipal contracts from the Davao City government totaling ₱33 million across 19 separate transactions from 2022 to 2026.
Vice President Sara Duterte listed herself as an incorporator and stockholder of GenCorp in her 2024 and 2025 Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs). However, previous testimony from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicated her name does not appear in GenCorp’s General Information Sheets (GIS) or articles of incorporation. Instead, Cruz represented JTC Group of Companies Philippines Inc., identified in SEC filings as GenCorp’s largest subscriber.
When Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian questioned the mayor on why GenCorp repeatedly won city contracts over a five-year period, Duterte replied that he relied on local procurement officers who held delegated signing authority.
“I do not know. He’s behind me, but 19 in a span of five years is, tingin ko, hindi ganoon karami in the total volume,” Duterte answered, referring to Assistant City Administrator Atty. Tristan Dwight P. Domingo, who accompanied him in court.
Duterte noted that when he asked Domingo about the awards, “His answer was simply because they were the most qualified and they complied with all the requirements.” Asked by Gatchalian whether he personally inspected the abstracts of quotations showing competing vendors and price differentials, Duterte admitted: “Hindi ko na tinignan.”
City records presented during the session revealed that four of the 19 GenCorp deals underwent public bidding, while 15 were executed through small-value procurement. In one public bidding contract covering ₱8.4 million for food supplies catering to 60,000 people, GenCorp emerged as the sole bidder.
Duterte denied ever discussing GenCorp contracts with Cruz or any company representative, despite confirming a direct business partnership with Cruz in another entity. Under direct examination, Mayor Duterte confirmed that he and Cruz are co-shareholders in Chinese Gen Bee Foods Corporation, where Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte is also listed as a shareholder in its 2026 GIS.
Senator Risa Hontiveros further pressed the mayor on Cruz’s extensive ties to the Duterte family. SEC documents previously submitted to the court showed Cruz and Vice President Duterte were co-shareholders in Metro City Chow Foods Corporation, where Cruz held 1,997 shares and the Vice President held 500 shares. Cruz also previously served as former President Rodrigo Duterte’s special envoy to China.
Describing Cruz’s relationship with the family, Mayor Duterte stated: “Maybe not entirely the family, but he is a friend of my father. He is a known businessman in Davao.”
Despite these overlapping connections, Mayor Duterte testified that he did not inspect GenCorp’s corporate disclosures, examine bidder quotations, or discuss the business with Cruz. He added that he and Vice President Sara Duterte “simply do not discuss” their respective business interests.
While acknowledging that he retained ultimate authority as Head of the Procuring Entity (HOPE) to reject noncompliant contract awards, Mayor Duterte admitted he did not review or block any of the 19 GenCorp transactions.
However, when asked directly by Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero whether he would have permitted GenCorp to receive Davao City contracts had he known Vice President Sara Duterte had declared herself a company stockholder, the mayor responded: “I would not allow it.”