Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday filed a plunder and graft complaint against ex-President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with Go’s family securing P6.95 billion worth of government infrastructure projects.
Trillanes tagged Go as the central figure in this latest plunder charge, adding that Duterte acted as enabler.
According to the former senator, Go took advantage of his position to corner over 200 projects for his family members, mostly in Davao even when Duterte was mayor of Davao City. Go’s father owns the CLTG Builders construction firm while his brother runs the Alfrego Builders.
Both companies allegedly got billions worth of government contracts under the Duterte administration, during which Go served as Special Assistant to the President and later as a senator from 2019 to 2022.
In a 35-page complaint, Trillanes said CLTG Builders entered a joint venture with the Discaya couple’s St. Gerrard Construction to secure P816 million worth of government contracts.
He said Go and Duterte could be held liable for violating laws on plunder, anti-graft and corrupt practices, and code of conduct for public officials.
Trillanes said he anchored his allegations on the data of the Commission on Audit (COA) that CLTG Builders was awarded 125 projects in Davao region by the Department of Public Works and Highways from March 2007 to May 2018.
Several of the projects were under Duterte’s centerpiece “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, he noted.
Moreover, COA records showed that CLTG Builders secured 27 projects worth P3.2 billion in 2017 alone, while Alfrego Builders reportedly won 59 public works projects in Davao region from June 2007 to July 2018 worth P1.74 billion,
In 2018, Alfrego was able to secure contracts for 23 projects worth P1.3 billion, Trillanes said.
In response, Go fired back at Trillanes over what the incumbent senator described as rehashed allegations to tarnish his reputation and distract the public from those truly responsible for corruption.
“You are barking at the wrong tree. If you’re really serious, why don’t you go after the real corrupt individuals? Why don’t you file cases against your financiers, the contractors, you know who they are,” Go told Trillanes.
Go, a longtime Duterte ally, denied any involvement in irregular government contracts. —With Ram Superable
