Former Senator Antonio 'Sonny' Trillanes after filing plunder cases against former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Bong Go at the Department of Justice in Manila on July 5, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — After filing plunder and graft complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ), former Sen. Sonny Trillanes said he is preparing file other charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Bong Go.

According to Trillanes, the new complaint is related to a controversial frigate deal during the Duterte administration and will be filed "at the appropriate time."

He added: "[K]ailangan talaga na magkalap ng iba’t-ibang dokumento so malapit-lapit na rin iyan. Si Duterte at si Bong Go din iyan at mga ibang mga kapartner nila sa Department of Defense."

(We need to gather various documents, and it is almost ready. This involves Duterte, Bong Go, and their other partners in the Department of Defense.)

The frigate acquisition project, worth P15.7 billion, involved the purchase of warships for the Philippine Navy. It began during the administration of the late former President Benigno Aquino III and continued during the Duterte administration.

“Ang nangyari binili natin, nanalo yung isang contractor sa isang bidding at specific yung mga terms of reference kung ano mga nakalagay doon pero nung naupo na sila Duterte, binago, ginawang mga segunda klase, kumbaga, hindi na ‘yung ano yung nakasaad doon,” said Trillanes.

(What happened was we bought the ships, a contractor won the bid with specific terms of reference, but when Duterte took office, they changed it to second-rate specifications.)

He said that Navy officials were forced to accept the new terms.

“Nang hindi tinanggap iyon ng flag officer in command, tinanggal sa puwesto ni Duterte at naglagay siya ng tao na pipirma. Dahil doon, worth P1.4 billion ang dagdag na kinita ng mga nasa likod ng pagmaniobra na iyon,” Trillanes added.

([W]hen the flag officer in command refused, Duterte removed him and appointed someone who would sign. Because of this maneuver, those behind it earned an additional P1.4 billion.)

FRIGATE ISSUE

Go, who was Duterte's special assistant at the time, denied any involvement in the allegedly anomalous project when the issue first hit headlines in 2018. 

He said then that he had only passed along a letter that a South Korean firm sent to the Office of the President on the deal for a combat management system for the frigates.

Duterte later said that he had given the letter to Go to forward to the Department of National Defense, which then sent it to Philippine Navy leadership.

Vice Adm. Ronald Joseph Mercado, the Navy chief who was removed from the post in relation to the project, told a Senate hearing that Go "never approached me to inquire about the frigate acquisition project, neither did he make any form of communication to influence my decision-making" on the deal.

READ: Bong Go, magbibitiw kung mapatunayang may kinalaman sa frigate deal

Trillanes said he hopes the DOJ will begin investigating the plunder and graft complaints he previously filed against Duterte and Go but acknowledged it will likely take time.

“Kaya kailangan natin na bigyan ng atensyon , kasi iva-validate nila iyong mga dokumentong sinubmit namin. By the way, galing po iyan sa COA, Commission on Audit, at galing din po ito sa DPWH, itong mga kontrata na ito, at sa DTI, official documents ito. We will have to wait, titingnan natin kung hanggang ito aabot,” he said.

(They need to validate the documents we submitted. By the way, these documents come from the Commission on Audit (COA), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). These are official documents. We will have to wait and see how far this goes.)

READ: Trillanes files plunder, graft complaints vs Rodrigo Duterte, Bong Go

Trillanes said that his complaint is not politically motivated since he is not seeking a national position.

Go has called the accusations against him recycled and politically motivated.

“Sa totoo lang, lumang tugtugin na ito. Taong 2018 pa ang akusasyon na iyan. Ni-recycle pa nila noong 2021. Pero wala pa rin siyang napatunayan,” Go said.

(In truth, this is an old issue. These accusations date back to 2018 and were recycled in 2021. But he still hasn't proven anything)