Bida ang saya: Is your fave Jollibee spot owned by Sara Duterte?
We know by now that Vice President Sara Duterte has some links to Jollibee because the company she declared in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) has franchises of the fast-food giant.
But just how many branches does Gencorp Industries Inc. (Gencorp) operate?
During the impeachment trial on Friday, October 9, the prosecution presented receipts from Jollibee branches in Davao City showing Gencorp as the owner.
There are at least five branches:
- Jollibee Centerpoint Plaza Matina Crossing
- Jollibee Davao Gaisano Mall
- Jollibee Abreeza Mall
- Jollibee Times Square Plaza Corner
- Jollibee Bolton Street, Poblacion District
Jollibee Bolton is a known hangout spot of the Dutertes.
Rappler first reported that Gencorp cornered millions of pesos in contracts with the Davao City government in 2022, coinciding with the time that Sara became the Vice President, and her brother Sebastian assumed the mayorship of their hometown. The arrangement raises questions on conflict of interest, and potential violation of the Constitution.
While Duterte herself declared that she is a stockholder of Gencorp in her SALN, the absence of her name in the company’s Securities and Exchange Commission documents has been a head-scratcher.
“The reason why I think VP Sara included Gencorp in her SALN is because its value is huge,” prosecution witness, financial forensic analyst Alexander Cabrera, theorized on Friday.
He explained that an investor would need between P35 million to P50 million for a Jollibee franchise with P35 million being a “very conservative [figure]…because you need working capital pambayad sa crew, pambayad sa manager, pambayad sa rent, initial inventory (to pay for the crew, the manager, rent, initial inventory).”
Cabrera, who reviewed voluminous financial records of Duterte, said upon comparison of Gencorp’s bank inflows and financial statements, it was concluded that the firm has P1.1 billion in undeclared wealth.
Cabrera said that overall, Duterte has P817 million in undeclared wealth from 2022 to 2025, including P212.6 million from undeclared income from Gencorp.
How did the analyst compute that figure when Duterte’s stake at Gencorp hasn’t been disclosed in corporate filings?
“We applied a conservative 20% percentage,” Cabrera said. – Rappler.com
