A SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) official on Tuesday testified before the Senate Impeachment Court that Vice President Sara Z. Duterte should have known the constitutional requirement to divest business interests before assuming office in 2022.
SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department Director Gerardo del Rosario made the statement during questioning by Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo regarding Article VII, Section 13 of the Constitution, which prohibits the President, Vice President, Cabinet members, and their deputies or assistants from participating in business or holding certain financial interests while in office.
Del Rosario said that while the SEC does not have guidelines requiring the agency to flag public officials who form or become involved in corporations, the restriction should have been known by a high-ranking government official.
‘She should have known, as a high-ranking government official who took an oath to serve as President or Vice President, that this was her limitation,’ del Rosario said.
‘Therefore, before she took her oath of office, she should have removed those interests or divested from them,’ he added.
Duterte assumed office as Vice President on June 30, 2022. However, her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) continued to include business interests and financial connections after she entered office.
Her 2024 SALN listed several companies under business interests, including Metro City Chow Foods Corp., Gencorp Industries Inc., Carpio Lawyers, 888 Bistro, Cale88 Foods Corp., Madayaw Fisheries Corp., Mati City Ice Plant and Cold Storage Inc., Amianan Shores Inc., Geometry Security and Investigation Agency Inc., and Cabletow 88 Shipping and Marine Services Inc.
Among the companies examined during the hearing was Metro City Chow Foods Corporation. SEC records presented before the impeachment court showed that Duterte remained listed as a director and shareholder of the company from 2022 through 2025.
Corporate documents showed that Duterte subscribed to 20 percent of the company’s original subscribed capital and was listed as holding 500 shares valued at P50,000.
Del Rosario explained that under the Revised Corporation Code, the board of directors exercises corporate powers, manages company affairs, and oversees the properties and operations of a corporation.
Metro City Chow’s audited financial statements also stated that the board was responsible for overseeing the company’s financial reporting process, reviewing financial statements, and approving them before submission to shareholders.
The SEC official, however, clarified that the documents reviewed by the agency only showed Duterte’s corporate position and did not establish whether she attended meetings, participated in daily operations, or received compensation from the company.
The hearing also examined Gencorp Industries Inc., which Duterte identified in her 2024 SALN as a business interest where she was a stockholder.
Del Rosario testified that Duterte’s name did not appear in the Gencorp incorporation documents and General Information Sheets reviewed by the SEC.
‘For Gencorp Industries Incorporated, the name of Vice President Sara Duterte does not appear from the company’s incorporation up to the filing of the General Information Sheets. That is what appears in my summary,’ Del Rosario said.
The SEC witness said Gencorp’s records showed company sales totaling P1.04 billion and net income of P8.04 million from 2021 to 2024. He clarified that these figures represented company performance and did not identify any personal income received by Duterte.
During questioning, the defense raised the possibility that ownership interests could exist through private trust agreements or beneficial ownership arrangements that may not appear in regular SEC filings.
Del Rosario explained that ordinary trust agreements generally do not need to be filed with the SEC, while certified voting trust agreements are required to be submitted. He added that no certified voting trust agreement involving Gencorp was found in the records reviewed.
The witness emphasized that his testimony was limited to the documents requested from and maintained by the SEC.
‘We can only state what is contained in the documents that were requested from us,’ del Rosario said.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian also questioned whether companies linked to Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, declared dividends that could explain increases in their declared wealth.
Del Rosario answered that the SEC records reviewed during the hearing contained no information showing declared dividends from the companies presented.
‘Based on these records, if she did not receive any benefit or dividends, I do not know whether she could declare income earned from these corporations,’ he said.
The SEC official clarified that the absence of recorded dividends in the reviewed documents did not determine all possible sources of Duterte’s wealth.
Gatchalian noted during the discussion that increases in wealth could come from other sources.
‘It could come from another source. It is not only from these corporations,’ Gatchalian said.