A fresh plunder complaint has been submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman seeking a full probe of Vice President Sara Duterte over alleged irregularities involving more than P600 million in confidential funds and claims tied to her earlier tenure in local government.
Filed on Jan. 21, the 41-page complaint was brought by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV together with members of The Silent Majority. The filing asks investigators to examine possible violations of the Anti-Plunder Law, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and provisions on direct and indirect bribery under the Revised Penal Code.
Beyond the questioned use of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, the complainants allege anomalies dating back to Duterte’s term as Davao City mayor, including accusations of illicit financial dealings. They also requested that the ombudsman consider recommending impeachment proceedings before the House of Representatives on grounds that include graft, plunder, bribery, and betrayal of public trust.
Speaking after the filing, Trillanes said the accusations extend past the issue of confidential allocations and into claims of large-scale accumulation of wealth during Duterte’s years in Davao City. “Through this complaint, we are calling on Ombudsman (Jesus Crispin) Boying Remulla to give attention to this case. This involves billions of pesos of stolen public funds,” he said.
Trillanes added that the complaint seeks to revive scrutiny of alleged questionable bank transactions involving Duterte and her family that were previously flagged by the Anti-Money Laundering Council. “This can be a way to finally look into her bank accounts, because there is a memorandum of agreement between the ombudsman and AMLC wherein the ombudsman can get from AMLC the bank records for flagged transactions,” he said.
The filing also references the affidavit of former military agent Ramil Madriaga, described by the complainants as an alleged conduit of funds. This is the second plunder complaint now pending before the ombudsman against Duterte; an earlier case lodged in December centered primarily on the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
Separately, legal action unfolded in Davao City as Duterte’s former security chief, retired Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, filed a cyberlibel complaint on Wednesday before the Department of Justice Region 11 against Madriaga and his lawyer, Raymond Palad.
“I took this step deliberately and with restraint. As a soldier and a public servant, I firmly believe that serious accusations must be addressed through lawful institutions, not through trial by publicity, online speculation or the repeated circulation of unverified claims,” Lachica said in a statement. He also denied any link to Madriaga, saying, “The allegations circulated against me online are false, malicious and entirely without factual basis. I categorically deny any involvement in the acts imputed to me. I have never met, worked with or coordinated with Mr. Madriaga, who was never part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, nor of any unit under my command.”
Madriaga has previously claimed he helped set up the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group and said he recommended Col. Dennis Nolasco to head the Presidential Security Group, alleging that Nolasco later appointed Lachica to lead the vice president’s security detail and that he worked under them from July 2022 to April 2023.
