11 GenCorp Contracts in Davao City Skipped Public Bidding — Witness
Davao City awarded 15 contracts worth about P34.2 million to GenCorp Industries, according to Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) official Rendell Sopeña during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Of the 15 contracts, only four went through public bidding, while 11 were processed through negotiated small-value procurement. The 11 contracts were worth roughly P7 million to P8 million in total.
Sopeña said the contracts were part of 49 government deals awarded to GenCorp during Duterte’s term as vice president. Aside from Davao City, PhilHealth Region 11 awarded 33 contracts to the company, while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Region 11 awarded one. The combined value of the 49 contracts was about P35.88 million.
The testimony was presented as part of the prosecution’s evidence in Article II of the impeachment case, which covers allegations involving Duterte’s business and financial interests. Duterte had declared GenCorp as a business interest in her SALNs, although an SEC official previously testified that her name did not appear as an incorporator or director in the company’s corporate records.
Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte has given a different account of the city’s transactions with GenCorp. He said the city had 19 contracts with the company worth more than P33.2 million. According to him, four were awarded through public bidding and 15 through small-value procurement. He also said the transactions were processed and published through PhilGEPS.
The difference between the PhilGEPS records and the city government’s figures is expected to be examined during the proceedings. Mayor Sebastian Duterte has been subpoenaed to testify before the impeachment court regarding the GenCorp transactions.
The Senate impeachment court will continue reviewing the procurement records and witness testimony as the proceedings on the allegations involving Duterte’s business interests move forward.
