[ANALYSIS] Witness vs witness: Deadlock, not a stalemate?

 Is the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte now slowly headed for a stalemate? Or just a deadlock?

The prosecution panel presented on Day 28 an official of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System, who said that a company Duterte had clearly identified as hers in her 2025 Statement of Assets and Liabilities—GenCorp Industries Inc.—had secured contracts from several government agencies in Davao City, her political bailiwick.

On the surface, this could be a violation of Article VII, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution, which prohibits Duterte (as well as President Marcos) from directly or indirectly participating in any business to stop conflicts of interest and the misuse of power, one of the three issues raised by Article II of the impeachment case. The law requires Duterte to divest from her business interests. 

Quoting a summary of records from PhilGEPS division chief Rendell Sopeña, GenCorp had been awarded several contracts with an aggregate amount of over P35 million from 49 contracts acquired from various government agencies. 

Broken down, GenCorp got a contract from OWWA worth P330,000; 33 contracts from PhilHealth worth P1.3 million; and 15 contracts from city hall worth P34 million. 

GenCorp Industries Inc., originally incorporated as Great Jolly Times Food Corp., is a food and catering services company based in Davao City. It primarily trades, supplies, and operates in the food service and restaurant management. 

While Duterte included GenCorp in her SALN, her name did not appear in the company’s corporate records filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the head of the SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department, Gerardo Del Rosario.

Del Rosario took the witness stand on Day 27 and Day 28 and maintained the same report after direct and cross-examination. 

Sopeña's testimony and the documents he gave the court have yet to confirm that Duterte was indeed part of the company and had participated, directly or indirectly, in securing the contracts.

Quick on the draw, prosecution lawyer Gerville Luistro excitedly said that the alleged violation would nail down the vice president. The checkmate, as promised, saying there couldn’t be any possible legal escape route to demolish it.

Sopeña will face the defense for cross-examination on Monday, Day 30. On Day 29, the prosecution and the defense will present their oral arguments on whether or not the court should lower the number of senators who can vote on the conviction or the acquittal of the respondent. 

Which one of the two witnesses—Del Rosario and Sopeña—bears weight? Only the court, the senator-judges would have to decide on that, according to Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero. 

At one point during Sopeña’s testimony, Escudero cut him short and called the attention of Luistro. He was visibly amused, or probably upset, why the prosecution was making much ado about GenCorp securing a contract worth P50,000 for the delivery of food, including tomato paste, or catsup. 

Escudero told Luistro that it was the prosecution which took both Del Rosario and Sopeña to the witness stand. The court will have to settle that, not Luistro, who went ahead making a litany of Duterte’s supposed constitutional violation, but forgetting altogether Del Rosario’s cross-examined testimony and documents.

Was the trial thus headed for a stalemate? Or a deadlock, for now?

The trial ended at 3 p.m., leaving the public at large wanting more. Defense counsel Roberto Batungbacal will cross-examine Sopeña next week.

If their individual court performances were any indication, the defense panel always came visibly ready and prepared.

Del Rosario’s cross-examination on Day 28 by defense lawyer Justin Nicol Gular came smooth, clear, and hardly uninterrupted. 

Prosecution lawyer Erwin Matib allowed the trial to droop on Day 27. In her first 30 minutes of appearance on Day 28, Luistro likewise caused some confusion over what she was talking about, prompting Escudero to call her attention a number of times. “Are you referring to (Sopeña's) summary?” he asked. “Or the PhilGEPS documents? We are not there yet.”

Del Rosario was a competent man, well-versed in the SEC's role and rules. But Gular managed to cast doubts about his competence as a witness who could pin down Duterte. On cross-examination, Del Rosario said that neither he nor the SEC had knowledge of Duterte’s SALN, GenCorp’s board officials, minutes of the meetings, and the circumstances why the company had not declared dividends. “We rely on documents furnished to us,” he said. 

So, who would be the right witness to provide the answers? Visibly frustrated, senator-judge Bam Aquino stood up and said the prosecution should have asked the court to summon the men and women behind GenCorp to shed light on Duterte’s involvement in their company. 

Perhaps, only then can the checkmate/deadlock be settled.

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