The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte presented its fourth witness Wednesday as the Senate impeachment court resumed proceedings on the 42nd day of her trial.

Atty. Suzette Balucanag-Punay, in-house counsel of GenCorp Industries Inc. and Metro City Chow Foods Corp., formally took her oath before the Senate impeachment court.

Defense counsel Atty. Justin Nicol Gular began the direct examination of Balucanag-Punay following her presentation as a witness for Duterte.

According to the defense's offer of testimony, Balucanag-Punay is expected to testify on the corporate structure and operations of GenCorp and Metro City Chow Foods, which operate Jollibee and Chow King franchises, respectively.

She is also expected to dispute allegations that Duterte has an ownership or equity interest in GenCorp, saying the vice president is neither a stockholder, officer nor director of the company and has made no capital contribution to its operations.

The witness is likewise expected to challenge the findings in a forensic report prepared by Atty. Alexander B. Cabrera, particularly Table 39, which reportedly computed Duterte's alleged undeclared income from GenCorp.

The defense said Balucanag-Punay would present corporate records to establish alleged inaccuracies in the report's computation and clarify the actual income attributable to the vice president.

She is also expected to testify that Duterte has no management, supervisory or operational control over GenCorp, including its government contracts.

Regarding Metro City Chow Foods, the defense acknowledged that Duterte is listed as a stockholder, director and member of its Compensation Committee but maintained that she has not exercised the functions and responsibilities associated with these positions.

Balucanag-Punay's testimony is also intended to counter material allegations under Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment and identify documents relevant to the defense's claims.