Trillanes sues ex-Pres. Duterte, Bong Go for plunder, graft

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday filed with the Office of the Ombudsman plunder and graft complaints against former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Christopher "Bong" Go.

Also named as respondents in the complaint were the senator's father Deciderio Lim Go and brother Alfredo Armero Go.

Trillanes said that Go's father, owner of CLTG Builders, as well as the Alfrego Builders owned by Go's brother secured billions worth of government contracts from 2008 when Duterte was still serving as Davao City mayor up to present.. 

He said CLTG Builders entered a joint venture with St. Gerrard Construction, a company owned by the Discaya family, to win P816 million worth of government contracts during the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2022. 

Likewise, Trillanes said CLTG and Alfrego Builders also cornered approximately P6.95 billion in government infrastructure projects from 2008 to the present.

“Ang main plunderer rito ay si Bong Go kasi siya ang central figure dun sa tatay at kapatid, tapos 'yung kanyang relationship with Duterte enabled this. Ang pumipirma, ang naga-appprove ay itong si Duterte pero nasa likod niya itong si Bong Go,” Trillanes said after filing the complaint. 

(The main plunderer here is Bong Go, because he is the central figure here between his father and his brother, and his relationship with Duterte enabled this. The one who signs, approves these contracts, is Duterte, but behind him is Bong Go.)

“Ito ay tungkol sa P7 billion worth na infra projects na in-award nila Bong Go at Duterte doon sa tatay at kapatid ni Bong Go. Ito ay bawal at covered ito sa plunder law. Alam naman natin na magkadugtong ang bituka ni Bong Go at Duterte kaya hindi niya pwedeng ipagkaila na hindi naimpluwensyahan ito [para makuha ang kontrata ng mga kamag-anak ni Senator Go],” Trillanes added.

“Nung senador na si Bong Go, ganun din, kahit na senador siya, siya pa rin ang nag-a-act as the alter ego of Duterte. Talagang siya pa rin 'yung special assistant kaya ito ay maliwanag na violation sa ating batas kaya natin siya kinasuhan.  May flood control, may mga road-widening lahat lahat. Ang assumption natin dito, kahit na kumpleto o nagawa ‘yung proyekto, ‘yung offense niya is hindi dapat sa tatay at kapatid ang nagbenepisyo,” he further said.

Trillanes said the transactions are reflected in around 200 Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contracts, the documents of which he secured when he was still a senator and that he was able to secure additional documentary evidence after his senate tenure ended.

“Bawal ito. Hindi pwedeng bigyan ng kontrata 'yung tatay at kapatid mo. Ang nakalagay sa ating batas, up to 4th degree of consanguinity and affinity, pero ito first first degree ito tatay ito at kapatid. At hindi niya pwedeng sabihin na hindi niya mapipili ang kamag anak niya kasi hindi ito basta basta kamag anak. Kapatid at tatay ito,” he said.

“Tapos halos 200 contracts ito. Sa city hall ng Davao hanggang sa noong sila ay president pa.  Bukod pa run, itong CLTG at Alfrego Builders na construction companies nung tatay at kapatid ni Bong Go, under capitalized ito. Hindi sila pwedeng magkaroon ng mga proyekto na mga daang daang milyon. Ang ginawa nila nag circumvent sila ng ating batas by having joint ventures with firms with triple A licenses,” he added.

(These are 200 contracts, from Davao City hall until Duterte was President. In addition, CLTG and Alfrego Builders of Go's family are undercapitalized. They cannot secure projects worth hundreds of million so they circumvented the law and entered into joint ventures with triple A licenses.) 

Trillanes said since the firms of Go’s family members are undercapitalized, they only have a B license when the contracts were secured.

He then said that to believe that Go was unaware of the nature of the business of his father and brother is unbelievable given the joint venture between the Go family’s firms and that of the Discayas.

“Kaya 'yung sinasabi ni Bong Go na hindi niya kilala 'yung mga Discaya eh may joint venture 'yung tatay at kapatid niya, paano nagkakilala itong mga ito? Ang issue ngayon is sino ang politiko na nasa likod ni Discaya? Ito, hindi mo na kailangan malaman kung sino 'yung nasa likod kasi tatay at kapatid mismo [ni Bong Go]. That is how the plunder law was defined, pag nagbenepisyo ka, illegally through a series of acts directly or indirectly,” Trillanes said.

(So when Senator Go says he does not know the Discayas, and yet the firms of his family have joint venture with the Discayas. The issue now is who are the politicians behind the Discayas? You don't need to ask here because you already know the person behind the father and brother of Bong Go. Plunder is defined as a crime wherein you benefitted from a series of acts, directly or indirectly.)

Trillanes said he first filed the same complaint before the Justice department rather than the Ombudsman during the Duterte administration, but the complaint was forwarded by the Justice department to the Ombudsman in defiance of then Justice chief Menardo Guevarra.

When the said complaint reached the Ombudsman, Trillanes said the anti-graft body did not take action on it.

The threshold for plunder is P50 million, although a 2016 Supreme Court ruling requires a main plunderer for conviction.

GMA News Online reached out to the camp of Duterte for comment and will publish it once available.

In an ambush interview, Go urged Trillanes to not deviate from the truth as he insisted that the real perpetrators behind the anomalous flood control projects should be held accountable. 

“Ngayon na nasa Ombudsman na siya, meron naman pong COA (Commission on Audit). Pwede naman pong tumingin kung meron bang pagkukulang, kung meron bang irregularities dito sa mga proyektong ito. Kasuhan ninyo po,” Go said in an ambush interview.

(Now that it’s in the Ombudsman, there is COA where you can check if there were any anomalies, if there were any irregularities in these projects. Sue the people involved.) 

“Sinasabi ko nga, ako pa mismo, willing po akong kasuhan kahit kapamilya ko, kahit sino pa ‘yan,” Go said.

(I said that I'm willing to file a case even against my own family members.) 

He also said that there should be no “scripts” when it comes to the allegation, emphasizing that the truth should come out. 

“Ang issue dito, ang flood control. Ang issue po dito, anomalous projects. Ang issue po dito, ghost projects. Panagutin ninyo po ang dapat panagutin. Kilala ni Trillanes ‘yan. Kilala niya kung sino ang mga kontraktors na ‘yan. Kilala niya kung sino ang mga dapat managot dito sa isyung ito,” the senator said.

(The issue here is flood control, the anomalous projects, the ghost projects. Culprits should be held liable. Trillanes knows that. He knows who those contractors are. He knows who should be responsible for this issue.)

Go previously said that he has nothing to do with the operations of his family’s businesses. 

He went on to say that he would propose that they be held liable if they had contractual deficiencies or shortcomings.

"Kung mayroon mang pagkukulang o deficiencies or mali, ako mismo ang magrerekomenda sa komiteng ito na kasuhan kayo kahit kasama ang kamag-anak ko,” Go said during the Blue Ribbon committee hearing on September 1.

(If there are any shortcomings or deficiencies or mistakes, I myself will recommend to this committee that you be charged, even if it includes my relatives.)

"At uulitin ko, for the nth time, I have nothing to do with the business of my family. Wala po akong kinalaman sa negosyo nila, I have no involvement in its operations… If meron pong deficiencies at meron silang pagkukulang, ako mismo po ang magrerekomenda sa komiteng na kasuhan sila. Kahit kamag-anak ko, kahit sa anuman pong pagkakamali, kasuhan niyo po sila. I am for accountability, ayaw ko po ng kalokohan kahit kailan,” he added.

(And I will repeat, for the nth time, I have nothing to do with the business of my family. I have no involvement in their business, I have no involvement in its operations… If there are deficiencies and if they have shortcomings, I myself will recommend to the committee that they be charged. Even if they are my relatives, for any wrongdoing, charge them. I am for accountability, I do not tolerate wrongdoing at any time.)

Ombudsman reacts

Reacting to the complaint, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said his office will validate Trillanes’ allegations if it will be useful to the ongoing Ombudsman probe on CLTG Builders, among other related complaints.

“It (Trillanes’ complaint) gives us…binibigyan kami niyan ng hudyat kung saan kami dapat tumingin. Kasi nga, interesado kami diyan. Pero kung nandyan ang dokumento at meron na siyang mga project number, mga identifying marks, mas madali na namin mahahanap yung DPWH,” Remulla said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

(The Trillanes complaint gives us a hint where to look, and we are interested. If the documents are there and he has project numbers, we can check it with DPWH records.)

“Iyon naman ang pakay namin rito. Na mapabilis ang lahat. And we can use every information available. Iva-validate lang natin sa computer system ng DPWH,” Remulla added.

(That is our goal here, to speed up the prosecution of those liable. We just have to validate them with DPWH records.)

Asked if the Trillanes complaint could be merged with other related flood control cases, Remulla replied, “Pwede mag-merge.” (It could be merged.)

“Ito rin yung pinag-uusapan natin na conflict of interest cases. Under investigation pa ‘yung maraming bagay na ‘yan,” Remulla added.

(This is the same conflict of interest cases we are talking about that are still under investigation.)

Remulla earlier alleged that the Discaya couple is protecting Go. —with a report from Giselle Ombay/AOL/RF, GMA Integrated News