By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — A defense witness in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial challenged the prosecution’s financial computation on Wednesday, claiming corporate records showed that the Vice President received only ₱555,750 from GenCorp Industries Inc. in 2023, instead of the ₱55.7 million reflected in a forensic report.
Atty. Suzette Balucanag-Punay, corporate counsel of GenCorp and Metro City Chow Foods Corp., cited a transaction summary prepared by the company’s accountant to dispute the figures presented by prosecution forensic expert Atty. Alexander Cabrera.
Punay described the payment as a return of capital.
She also testified that GenCorp recorded total disbursements of ₱2,142,369.14 to Duterte from 2022 to 2025, representing returns on what she described as the Vice President’s investment in the Jollibee Times Square branch.
The competing figures put the company’s financial records and the prosecution’s forensic computations under scrutiny.
The discrepancy remains subject to examination by the prosecution and evaluation by the senator-judges.
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