Duterte, Bong Go face plunder raps; Go slams ‘rehash’

MANILA, Philippines — It was a rehash of charges, meant to divert the public’s attention from the principal perpetrators in the flood control scandal, Sen. Bong Go said yesterday of the plunder complaint filed against him and former president Rodrigo Duterte by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV before the Office of the Ombudsman.

“To Mr. Trillanes, you are barking at the wrong tree,” Go said at a press briefing.

Trillanes said the charges were archived by then ombudsman Samuel Martires, who was “protecting” Duterte, although without prejudice to the refiling of the complaint.Trillanes said he waited for Martires to retire as ombudsman before filing the case.

Go said he is ready to face the ombudsman to answer the allegations that construction firms owned by his father and half-brother had cornered P7 billion worth of government infrastructure contracts during the Duterte administration.

Trillanes had previously filed the complaint, Go said, over the contracts bagged by his father’s CLTG Builders and his half-brother’s Alfrego Builders and Supply.

Go was also sued for the firms’ joint venture deals with contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya’s St. Gerrard Construction.

“Seek the truth, not the script, not the playbook. Do not divert from the real issue at hand,” the senator said.

He accused Trillanes of having contractors as “financiers,” although he did not elaborate.

“My conscience is clear – unlike him, who has a dirty conscience. His only goal is to protect his financiers behind the black propaganda,” Go said.

Trillanes, in his complaints lodged with the Office of the Ombudsman, said Go and the former president abused their power by influencing the awarding of government projects to CLTG Builders and Alfrego Builders.

He said over 200 contracts for government projects have been awarded to the firms since 2008 while Duterte was still mayor of Davao City up until he assumed the presidency, with Go serving as his special assistant and later as senator.

The former senator also cited Go’s links to the Discayas, particularly CLTG Builders’ joint venture with St. Gerrard Construction for P816 million worth of government contracts.

CLTG Builders and Alfrego Builders have approximately P6.95 billion in government infrastructure projects since 2016.

Trillanes said Go and Duterteshould be prosecuted for violating Republic Act 7080 or the Anti-Plunder Act, Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

“The main plunderer is Bong Go because he is the central figure with his father and brother, and his relationship with Duterte enabled this thing to happen,” Trillanes told reporters after filing the complaints.

A public official is liable for plunder if he or she connives with a family member, business associates, subordinates and acquires ill-gotten wealth through a series of overt criminal acts.

The threshold for plunder is P50 million. It is punishable by life imprisonment. In plunder cases, the prosecution must also prove that there is a “main plunderer” in the scheme.

“Respondents Duterte and Bong Go were the ‘hub’ – the main plunderers for whose benefit the amassment, accumulation, and acquisition was made; with Deciderio Go and Alfredo Go as the ‘spokes’ – his co-conspirators,” the complaint read.

Trillanes accused Duterte and Go of taking advantage of their position and authority to “unjustly enrich themselves at the expense and to the damage and prejudice of the Filipino people.” — Daphne Galvez