Witness claims Duterte-linked GenCorp acquired 4 Jollibee branches with only P1.25M capital

Witness and forensic financial analyst Alexander Cabrera claimed that GenCorp Industries, linked to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio, purchased four Jollibee branches in Davao City with a declared capital of P1.25 million.

During the 37th day of the impeachment trial on October 9, he raised concerns regarding financial statements, noting the significantly higher capital typically required to procure such businesses, which would cost around P140 million to P200 million in total.

“It makes it a big company kasi 1 franchise is P35 million to P50 million,” Cabrera explained on the witness stand, implying that the base capital required to pay employees and operating expenses could have come from questionable sources.

He also elaborated that when a business is launched, working capital is required to sustain daily operations—funds that must come from additional capital infusion, external financing, or operational revenue rather than declared initial capital alone.

“You need to pay the managers and staff so ‘yung thirty-five [million] na ‘yun ay minimum capital na meron ang GenCorp. Subalit ang capital lang ng GenCorp ay one million two hundred fifty thousand,” the witness continued.

Three corporations tied to the Duterte couple—Calle88, Metro City, and GenCorp Industries Corp.—were scrutinized during direct examination led by House Prosecutor Rep. Chel Diokno, but Cabrera opted to emphasize the anomalous financial records linked to the “most important” one.

He revealed that among all evidence presented, exploring GenCorp Industries would have more bearing on the trial, as the source of funding for Duterte-linked companies—amounting to ₱222,623,468—was allegedly from foreign accounts.

These transactions were reportedly remitted from financial institutions across nine countries, including Ukraine, China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Tajikistan, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Lithuania.

Lead defense counsel Atty. Michael Poa refrained from commenting negatively during a post-trial press conference.

“I don’t want to talk ill. We will confront him through cross-examination on Monday,” Poa told reporters. “We’ll also have our own expert.”