DAVAO City Mayor Baste Duterte confirmed on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, his business ties with Jaime T. Cruz, a former special envoy to China for trade and investments under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is also being linked to six firms along with Vice President Sara Duterte.
During his appearance as a witness at the impeachment trial of his sister, Mayor Baste, who was declared a hostile witness, was questioned about the city government’s deals with Gencorp Industries Inc., which, according to him, bagged a total of 19 contracts worth P33,263,161.00 since 2022.
The figure is more than the 15 contracts earlier established in the impeachment court based on the testimony of Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System official Rendell Sopeña last week.
Mayor Baste reiterated that the transactions of City Hall with Gencorp were above board and that the company underwent rigorous evaluation and was determined to have submitted the lowest calculated responsive bid or offer.
He maintained that he was unaware of Gencorp until it was mentioned during the impeachment trial, as well as the links of his sister to the company.
Baste Duterte said he did not interfere in the deliberations of the city government’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) despite being the head of the procuring entity and that, through an executive order, he delegated his procurement responsibilities to the assistant city administrator to lessen his workload.
Duterte declared in her 2024 and 2025 Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth that she is a shareholder of Gencorp Industries Incorporated, although her name is not in the filings of the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
SEC records show that JTC Group of Companies Philippines Inc., which was represented by Cruz, was Gencorp’s largest subscriber, holding approximately 54.99 percent of its shares.
Baste Duterte maintained that he was not aware of Cruz’s involvement with Gencorp, noting that he never interfered with any bidding or contract awards.
However, he confirmed that he, Cruz and his brother, Davao Representative Paolo Duterte, were stockholders of Chinese Gen Bee Food Corporation.
Baste Duterte said that, had he known of his sister’s links to Gencorp, he would not have allowed the firm’s involvement in any of the transactions at City Hall.
He maintained that Sara Duterte never intervened, whether directly or indirectly, in the governance or administration of Davao City, nor did she intervene or participate in any procurement contract or ask for any special requests in connection with any transaction or contract involving Gencorp.
Baste Duterte said he never discussed any business dealings with his older sister because they respect each other’s privacy.