Senator-judge Panfilo “Ping” Lacson asserted that a notarized admission against interest carries greater admissibility and probative weight than official public documents during the 42nd day of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial.
Lacson raised the point after questioning defense witness Atty. Suzette Balucanag-Punay regarding the hierarchy of evidence, directing her to Section 27, Rule 130 of the Rules of Court.
”From what I know, admission against interest has greater probative or admissibility weight,” Lacson said.
Private prosecution panel member Atty. Lorna Kapunan echoed Lacson’s stance.
”May I call the court’s attention, and rightly pointed out by Senator Ping, admission in the hierarchy of evidence is the highest. It is the highest in terms of hierarchy of evidence,” she stated.
The legal debate unfolded as senator-judges scrutinized potential conflicts of interest involving Vice President Duterte.
Balucanag-Punay, serving as in-house counsel for GenCorp Industries Inc. and Metro City Chow Foods Corporation, confirmed receiving ₱2.1 million from GenCorp for the Vice President while the company secured ₱34.22 million in Davao City contracts under her brother, Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte.
Senate President Win Gatchalian pressed the witness on the corporate structure behind the transactions.
”GenCorp is paying an investment—a loose investment—to Vice President Sara. Yet, on the other hand, she is also selling to the Davao local government unit. So, in your view, wouldn’t this constitute a conflict of interest?” Gatchalian asked.
While Balucanag-Punay argued that separate bank accounts managed different Jollibee branches and that the Vice President was not part of the city government, questioning revealed that GenCorp ultimately owned both the branches and the payment streams. Gatchalian dismissed her defense, noting, “But her sibling is the mayor of the Davao LGU.”
Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo further highlighted a surge in GenCorp’s sales following the Vice President’s election in 2022.
”It seems to be a coincidence that, following VP Sara’s assumption of the vice presidency, GenCorp’s sales suddenly surged to ₱300-million,” Tulfo noted, questioning how sales reached ₱1 billion between 2022 and 2024 despite narrow net income margins.
Procurement summaries showed that Davao City contracts comprised ₱34.22 million—or 95.4 percent—of GenCorp’s authenticated public awards between July 2022 and June 2026. While Mayor Duterte previously testified he would have disallowed the contracts had he known of his sister’s stake, the Vice President declared a stake in GenCorp in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), despite her absence from official corporate shareholder records.
The matter forms a central component of Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which addresses allegations of undeclared assets and unexplained wealth estimated by a forensic financial analyst to be at least ₱817.87 million.