Former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV, on Wednesday, has filed a second plunder case before the Department of Justice, against former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Bong Go, along with former DND USec Raymundo Elefante, Former DBM USec. Lloyd Christopher Lao, former Philippine Navy (PN) chief Admiral Robert Empedrad and other private individuals involved in the anomalous implementation of the Php16 billion PN Frigate Acquisition Project.
According to Trillanes: “The complaint filed today was based on the information gathered from the investigation conducted by the Senate in 2018, as well as testimonies from officials privy to the manipulation done by Duterte and Bong Go to favor a private contractor.”
As a background, the Aquino administration initiated the procurement of two state-of-the-art frigates for the Navy. After a lengthy bidding process, the contract was signed just before the Duterte administration assumed office. However, the controversy started when senior officers of the PN questioned the contractor’s proposal to change the brands of several equipment, particularly the Combat Management System (CMS), to be installed in the frigates to more inferior and, therefore, much cheaper brands, which was in violation of the terms of the signed contract.
“Then PN Flag-Officer-In-Command Vice Admiral Ronald Mercado demanded that the contractor follow the contract to the letter, which resulted to a stalemate in the implementation. Because of this, the PN officers in-charge of the frigate project were summoned to the office of then SAP Bong Go in Malacañang, where the anomalous contractor’s proposal was presented. After this, then Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana also sent Vice Admiral Mercado a copy of the same contractor’s proposal with a marginal note saying that it came from Bong Go, and that they should study the same,” Trillanes explained.
Vice Admiral Mercado still did not accept the changes in the contract, despite the interventions of Bong Go, which led to the former’s unceremonious relief from office. Admiral Mercado was replaced by Admiral Empedrad, who promptly approved the illegal changes in the contract, thus bringing in additional billions in profit to the private contractor.
Bong Go’s intervention was confirmed by then President Duterte himself during his 2019 State of the Nation Address, saying that he instructed Bong Go to intervene in the frigate project.
Trillanes charged the respondents for violation of Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7080, as amended by RA 7659, otherwise known as The Act Defining and Penalizing the crime of Plunder; and Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as “The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”
“The frigate acquisition project’s intention was to procure two state-of-the-art warships, but because of the boundless greed of Duterte and Bong Go, our country has been stripped of its opportunity to drastically enhance our national security capability. Para kang umorder ng Mercedez Benz na sasakyan pero ang dineliver ay Mercedez Benz na kaha lang pero ang makina na nilagay ay pang-owner na jeep,” Trillanes further lamented.
