Panelo says VP Sara Duterte's Jollibee branch investment is passive and constitutional

Vice President Sara Duterte's reported investment in a Jollibee branch does not breach the Constitution, her spokesperson said on Wednesday, according to Edge Davao. He argued that the charter prohibits active participation in business but allows passive investments.

Lawyer Paolo A. Panelo spoke to reporters in an ambush interview at the Senate of the Philippines. He addressed reports that Duterte received payments from GenCorp, which were described as returns on her stake in the Jollibee Times Square branch.

Panelo said the investment began in 2007, when it was placed in Davao Bounty Times. It was later moved to Jolly Great Times, then to Times Square, and finally carried over to GenCorp. He said Duterte held no ownership, official position or management role in GenCorp. He also said her money was tied to the single branch and not to the company's wider operations. He noted that this was his own position and that it might differ from the defense team's.

He added that Duterte had no professional or personal relationship with GenCorp's in-house counsel, who testified during the impeachment proceedings. According to Panelo, the payments she received should be treated as a return of capital, not income earned from a business position.

Panelo pointed to the investment's inclusion in Duterte's Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) as proof that she did not try to hide it. He questioned why she would declare the money in her SALN if it had been a bribe.

He admitted that no written document had been presented to establish the original investment. However, he argued that the lack of papers does not mean the investment did not exist. He said GenCorp itself could not produce documents on the basis of the investment, yet Duterte still declared it.

To support his reading of the Constitution, Panelo cited former president Corazon Aquino. He said she reportedly declared shares in several corporations while in office. He also cited former vice president Leni Robredo, who he said declared shares in Meralco and Rockwell Land while serving. He said receiving passive dividends from such investments is not prohibited.

Panelo also responded to claims that Duterte may have violated the sub judice rule by criticising the Senate Impeachment Court. He said her camp would wait for any formal motion from the prosecution. He maintained that the court can be criticised when the criticism has a factual basis, because it is accountable to the public for how it conducts the trial.