GenCorp disclosure in SALN is 'admission against interest,' says House panel

Vice President Sara Duterte’s declaration of GenCorp. Industries Inc. as one of her business interests in her 2024 and 2025 Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) constitutes an admission against her interest and should be given greater evidentiary weight, the House prosecution panel said Tuesday. House prosecution panel adviser and former Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers and panel spokesperson Zia Adiong said Duterte’s sworn declaration should carry more weight than the absence of her name in GenCorp.’s corporate records. “In [regular] courts, when it's an admission against interest, it is supreme in terms of appreciation of the court because it is an admission that won't favor you and yet you admit to it. In the same application here, she declared in her SALN that she has business interest in GenCorp.,” Barbers said at a press conference. Barbers made the statement after prosecution witness Rendell Sopeña, division chief of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), told the Senate impeachment court that GenCorp. secured P35 million worth of government contracts while Duterte was Vice President. “That would run contrary to her interest because she should have divested from businesses as provided by the Constitution,” he added. Barbers was referring to Article VII, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution, which states: “The President, Vice-President, the Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants shall not, during said tenure, directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries.” The same provision also states: “They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office.” Adiong, for his part, said Duterte’s disclosure cannot be dismissed simply because her name does not appear in GenCorp.’s corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “The [one with] higher [weight] here is the one declaring the asset. That’s her SALN, she declared her interest there [in GenCorp.] for two years. That was not an honest mistake,” Adiong said. “Besides, the SALN is executed under oath. That is why the law imposes sanctions if there is an untruthful [statement] or concealment of disclosure,” he added. Also on Tuesday, the Vice President’s brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, said in a statement that the Davao City government’s transactions with GenCorp. amounted to more than P33.2 million across 19 contracts. The mayor said the transactions were all above board and that he and other Davao City government officials “never had any knowledge of Vice President Sara Duterte holding an interest in ‘GenCorp. Industries Inc.’”— MCG, GMA News