Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV has filed a new complaint against former president Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, reviving allegations that the lawmaker’s family firms secured nearly ₱7 billion worth of government contracts through political influence.
In the 35-page complaint submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, Trillanes accused Duterte, Go, and two of the senator’s family members—his father Deciderio and brother Alfred—of graft, plunder, and violating the code of conduct for government personnel.
“Respondent Go clearly took advantage of his public positions as an aide and alter ego of Respondent Duterte, in cornering illicitly billions upon billions of public infrastructure projects in favor of the unqualified sole proprietorship registered in the names of his father and brother,” the complaint stated. It further alleged that Duterte “consciously, knowingly, and deliberately connived with him,” supposedly as a reward for Go’s loyalty.
The former senator said this was the same case he brought to the Department of Justice in July 2024, which was endorsed to the Ombudsman but dismissed by then Ombudsman Samuel Martires without investigation. “They really buried it,” Trillanes told reporters, adding that the new filing expands on his earlier complaint.
According to Trillanes, companies owned by Go’s relatives—CLTG Builders and Alfrego Builders & Supply—won around ₱6.95 billion worth of Department of Public Works and Highways projects from 2016 to the present, mostly in Davao. He cited Commission on Audit data showing that CLTG secured 125 projects amounting to ₱3.2 billion in 2017 alone, while Alfrego obtained 59 projects totaling ₱1.74 billion between 2007 and 2018.
He also alleged that Alfrego continued to win flood-control projects worth ₱327.2 million during the Marcos administration, all located in Davao del Sur.
Go, who served as Duterte’s longtime aide before becoming senator, dismissed the filing as a recycled complaint and a political maneuver. “I now have the opportunity to answer him point by point before the Ombudsman and not in the media anymore,” he said.
The senator maintained that his family’s businesses have existed long before his public service and denied any involvement in their operations. He also challenged Trillanes to go after the “real contractors” identified in congressional hearings. “The truth is already coming out… they are also the congressmen,” he said.
Go said he would cooperate fully with the Ombudsman’s investigation and expressed hope that Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla would handle the case “fairly.”
