Trillanes files plunder raps vs Duterte, Bong Go over P7-B Davao projects

MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has filed plunder complaints against Sen. Bong Go, members of his family, and detained former president Rodrigo Duterte over their alleged involvement in the diversion of billions of pesos in infrastructure projects in Davao.

Trillanes filed the complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, October 21, accusing the respondents of violating the Plunder Law, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Also implicated were Go’s father and half-brother, who allegedly own the construction firms CLTG Builders and Alfrego Builders.

Alleged P7-B scheme. Trillanes alleged that the Go family’s construction firms were awarded nearly P7 billion worth of government infrastructure contracts from 2016 to the present, mostly in Davao City and other areas in the Davao Region, where members of the Duterte family have served as mayors and in various other positions.

He said that of the total amount, P816 million came from joint ventures between CLTG and Alfrego Builders and St. Gerrard Construction, owned by contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya.

Trillanes alleged that these contracts were funneled through political connections and government influence, describing the pattern as a clear case of plunder.

 Earlier complaints and alleged cover-up

This is not the first time Trillanes has filed similar charges. In July 2024, he lodged plunder and graft complaints against Duterte and Go over the continuous awarding of P6.6 billion worth of government contracts to firms linked to Go’s family from 2007 to 2018.

The former senator said the earlier complaint was buried by a former prosecutor general, who allegedly defied the justice secretary’s directive by forwarding the case to the Ombudsman without investigation.

The former senator claimed the former prosecutor general's move led to his dismissal, but publicly, the prosecutor resigned from his post "to pursue other endeavors."

“Ang ginawa nung dating prosecutor general, against the order nung SOJ (Secretary of Justice), sinubmit niya dito and that eventually led to his dismissal or relief doon sa position niya,” Trillanes said.  (What the former Prosecutor General did was, against the order of the SOJ, he submitted it here, and that eventually led to his dismissal or relief from his position.)

“Kaya anong ginawa rito, ni hindi inimbestigahan. Not even a day or an hour was devoted in investigating it. Talagang binaon nila pero without prejudice yan, nagkaroon pa tayo ng pagkakataon na dagdagan yung una nating finile,” he added. (So what they did here was, they didn't even investigate it. Not even a day or an hour was devoted to investigating it. They really just buried it, but that was without prejudice, so we still had the opportunity to add to what we initially filed.)

Philstar.com has reached out to Go for a comment concerning Trillanes’ complaint, but he has yet to reply as of press time.