Davao City accountant testifying for VP Duterte was partner in firm that audited Duterte-linked firms

Davao City's incumbent accountant, called as a defense witness in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, was once a partner in an accounting firm that served as external auditor for three companies linked to the Duterte family, according to the Daily Tribune.

Vingelin Bajan confirmed on Tuesday that she became a partner in Ampil, Elis, Shudadano and Co. when it was registered in 2003, putting in P1,000 in capital. The firm later audited GenCorp Industries Inc., Metro City Chow Foods Corp. and Great Jolly Times Food Corp., businesses whose ties to the Duterte family are part of the trial's scrutiny of the vice president's wealth and financial interests.

Documents presented by the prosecution showed Bajan remained a partner until 2015, when the articles of partnership were amended to remove her name. That period overlapped with her job-order engagement with the Davao City government from 2001 to 2004. Bajan argued that job-order status did not create an employer-employee relationship with the city. She also denied recommending the firm for its audits of the Duterte-linked companies.

Asked by senator-judge Bam Aquino whether she had received a salary or other compensation from the firm, Bajan said she could not remember, though she later acknowledged receiving allowances from the partnership. She initially had trouble recalling the records and identifying her signature but eventually confirmed both the signature and the taxpayer identification number on the documents were hers.

Her responses prompted repeated interventions from the bench. Presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero questioned why an accountant could not readily recall her own business affiliation, telling her, "Please, my patience is wearing thin." Aquino said her manner of answering gave the impression she was withholding information. Bajan apologized, saying the records dated back more than a decade.

The defense had called Bajan for a different purpose: to authenticate payroll documents, vouchers and other records on a P64,194.72 payment made to Duterte in 2023. The defense maintains the amount covered salary differentials from her service in the city government and was not unauthorized double compensation while she was vice president.

Bajan is the third defense witness under Article II, which alleges unexplained wealth, incomplete asset disclosures and constitutionally prohibited business interests. It is the only charge left after prosecutors withdrew the articles on confidential funds, bribery and grave threats in October, the Daily Tribune reported.