Baste Duterte Summoned as Witness in Sara Duterte Impeachment Case
BASTE DUTERTE – The impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte have taken another turn after the Senate court subpoenaed her brother, Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte.
Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte has been ordered to appear before the Senate impeachment court as a prosecution witness in the impeachment trial of his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.
The Senate impeachment court issued a subpoena directing the mayor to testify from September 28 to 30 at 10 a.m. The order was personally served in Davao City by two representatives from the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms.
The subpoena states, “You are hereby commanded to appear before the Senate Impeachment Court… to testify your knowledge in the case which is before the Court in which the House of Representatives has impeached Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte.”
Aside from requiring his testimony, the court also instructed Mayor Duterte to submit certified true copies and complete electronic versions of official Davao City government records involving contracts and other transactions with Gencorp Industries, Inc.
The documents requested also cover transactions with “any corporation or other entity that owns or operates a Jollibee branch or establishment.”
The records are relevant to allegations being examined under Article 2 of the impeachment case, which concerns claims involving Vice President Duterte’s wealth, asset declarations, and business interests. The House prosecution panel previously said Baste could provide information about Gencorp and its transactions with the Davao City government.
In her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, Vice President Duterte declared an interest in Gencorp. However, Securities and Exchange Commission records presented during the proceedings did not identify her as an incorporator, director or stockholder of the company.
The Davao City mayor has also addressed the issue ahead of his scheduled testimony. Baste said that he and other city officials and employees had no knowledge of his sister allegedly having an interest in Gencorp.
“I, and all other officials and employees of the City Government of Davao, never had any knowledge of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte holding an interest in GENCORP INDUSTRIES INC.,” he said.
He added, “Furthermore, neither the name Sara Zimmerman Duterte nor the surname “Duterte” appears in any of the official documents, such as, among others, the Articles of Incorporation, submitted by GENCORP INDUSTRIES INC. across the 19 contracts and transactions in question.”
The latest subpoena is the second issued to the Davao City Mayor’s Office after the earlier order was recalled because of a change in the prosecution’s witness schedule. The court subsequently moved Baste Duterte’s appearance to September 28-30.
READ ALSO: Baste Duterte on Inday Sara’s Impeachment Trial: “They want to remain in power. Gusto nila sila”
