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"I CAN ALSO SAY THAT HER TESTIMONY, IS ABSURD"

Defense counsel Justin Nicol Gular presented a forensic report to GenCorp Industries, Inc. In-House Counsel Suzette Balucanag-Punay, which showed Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged 20% ownership of the said company, with a paid-up capital of P250,000.

Punay later said that GenCorp did not have any dividends from years 2022 to 2025.

Punay said that the report is inaccurate, and inconsistent with the records of the corporation, to which she remarked the report as "absurd." Kapunan made the motion for Punay's remark to be stricken off the record and rebutted that she can say the same remark of the witness' testimony.

Both statements were later struck off the record by Impeachment court Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero. (Video courtesy of Senate of the Philippines)

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Transcript
00:05Okay, for the record, Your Honor, we are showing Annex E of the Forensic Report, specifically Table 45 thereof, since
00:12there are several tables in Annex E.
00:16Do you see it with you?
00:18Yes, sir.
00:19Yes. Now, in Table 45 pertaining to Gencorp Industries, Inc., it shows that the Vice President allegedly has 20%
00:28ownership in the company and has a paid-up capital of allegedly P250,000.
00:35Again, based on your personal knowledge and the corporate records that are available to you, as the in-house counsel
00:42of Gencorp Industries, Inc., what can you say about the accuracy of those alleged findings?
00:47This is inaccurate, sir.
00:50And why do you say that, Attorney Suzette?
00:53It is inconsistent from the records of the corporation.
00:57And what happens if we assume that to be true in that the Vice President really has allegedly 20%
01:04ownership in Gencorp Industries, Inc.?
01:08Your Honor, please, at this point, this now requires an opinion.
01:14Previously, Your Honor, we did not object to respecting the decision of the presiding officer that the testimony is based
01:22on personal knowledge based on the records of the company, Your Honor.
01:26And she is correct in saying that this 20% is not reflective of her statement that the Vice President
01:36has no stock shareholdings as stated in the GIS.
01:40That is based on facts, Your Honor, and her personal knowledge of the facts as stated.
01:47This line of questioning now is opinion.
01:51I am willing to reform, Your Honor.
01:52And therefore, Your Honor, we are objecting to any question which relates to her opinion outside the parameters set by
02:01the presiding officer, meaning personal knowledge based on facts as stated in the four corners of the identified documents, Your
02:11Honor.
02:12Continuing objection to any expression of an opinion outside, quote-unquote, the parameters set by the presiding officer, personal opinion
02:23based on facts.
02:24Shall we no longer rule on the objection given the fact that Attorney Justin will reform?
02:30Thank you, Your Honor.
02:31I'm kindly reform, Attorney Justin.
02:32Now, my question is this, Attorney Suzette.
02:35You mentioned that it is inconsistent with the records of the corporation, correct?
02:38Yes, sir.
02:39My question is, why is that inconsistent with the records of the corporation?
02:45Can you explain?
02:46Because the total amount paid up for corporate records is just $1,250,000.
02:54And I do not know what will happen if we add 20% because according to the forensic report, Sarah
03:09has 20%, then the amount paid will be $1.5 million.
03:16So, it is, I do not know where to put it, sorry.
03:21Okay, thank you, Attorney Suzette.
03:24And what do you call that situation, Attorney Suzette?
03:31It's absurd.
03:34Sorry, what did you say?
03:36What was the word you used?
03:38Was it absurd?
03:39It's absurd.
03:40Okay, thank you.
03:41We moved to strike, Acha Rona.
03:43Your Honor, that's the answer of the witness.
03:45Absurd based on what, Your Honor?
03:48Absurd is, again, a conclusion.
03:51It is a conclusion of fact, conclusion of law, and more than that, it is an opinion.
03:56I can also say that her testimony is absurd, Your Honor, for the same reason.
04:02Your Honor, I think our witnesses here have rights, Your Honor, and that includes the right not to be badgered,
04:08Your Honor.
04:08To call a witness, testimony is absurd, without basis.
04:11It's badgering our witness, Your Honor.
04:13Counselors, please, please.
04:15I will strike out both the statement of the witness as to absurd, as well as the description of the
04:23counsel for the panel of prosecutors relating to the testimony of the witness as absurd, that she can say, although
04:30she did not say, but she actually already said.
04:35You did not say it, right?
04:36I did not say.
04:37I will not say that the statement is absurd.
04:39Exactly my point, which you can say, but you did not say, but we already heard.
04:44That will be stricken off from the record, too, to be fair.
04:49Can I proceed, Your Honor, for the record?
04:52In both cases, anyway, the absurd statements of both persons have been heard, anyway, so it's just stricken off from
05:03the TSA.
05:03Sorry, Your Honor.
05:04Sorry for interrupting.
05:05Kindly proceed, Attorney Justin.
05:06In that case, Your Honor, we'd just like to manifest that we request that paragraph found in page 22 of
05:13the forensic record, starting with past 28, and the table below it, ending interlocking shareholders,
05:19be bracketed and marked as Exhibit D-1-5 or 6, I'm sorry, Your Honor.
05:30Accordingly, at a later time, yes, so ordered.
05:33Thank you, Your Honor.
05:34We'd also like to request the marking of Table 45 of Annex E of the forensic record that it be
05:40bracketed and marked as D-2-7-gen, Corp.
05:44So ordered.
05:45Thank you, Your Honor.
05:47Puntaan, Attorney Suzette.
05:48Besides the, you mentioned you brought documents for GenCorp, you already mentioned the general information sheets.
05:56What other documents did you bring, if any, for GenCorp Industries, Inc.?
06:00The audited financial statements, sir.
06:02You just mentioned that dinala niyo po yung audited financial statements ng GenCorp Industries, Inc.
06:10In the year 2022, what dividends, if any, was declared by the company?
06:20There were no dividends, sir.
06:22And in the year 2022, rather, what dividends, if any, did the vice president receive from GenCorp Industries, Inc.?
06:31None.
06:32And why did she not receive any dividends from the company?
06:35There were no dividends declared.
06:37In the year 2023, what dividends, if any, were declared?
06:44If you know, and based on your corporate records.
06:47I don't remember seeing that the corporation declared dividends from these financial statements.
06:54Okay.
06:54That includes 2024, 2025, just to abbreviate.
06:58Yes, sir.
06:58Okay.
06:58Okay.
06:58Let's move on.
07:00Okay.
07:12Let's move on.

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