TRILLANES, CIVIL SOCIETY GROUP FILE PLUNDER, GRAFT RAPS VS VP SARA

FORMER Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV and a civil society group on Wednesday filed plunder and graft complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Duterte was charged not only as vice president but also as former Department of Education (DepEd) secretary and Davao City mayor.

Aside from the former senator, the other complainants from the  civil society group The Silent Majority include Jocelyn Marie Acosta, Margaret Corazon Aquino, Ruby Anne Gonzales, Lucilyn Mersado, Casilda Guevarra, Epifanio Ramirez Jr., Annie Bartolome, Gay Benueza, and Evelyn Abella.

Based on a 41-page complaint, Trillanes and the group  wanted Duterte held accountable for violations of Republic Act 7080, the Anti-Plunder Act; RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; RA 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees; the Revised Penal Code on direct/indirect bribery; RA 9160, the Anti-Money Laundering Act; and RA 1379, the Forfeiture Law.

The complainants  mentioned the alleged offenses committed by the Vice President during her tenure in public service like the misuse of her confidential and intelligence funds (CIF).

They cited the P650 million in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2023.

It further cited the P8 billion worth of allegedly overpriced laptops procured under the DepEd Computerization Program, P12.3 billion of disallowances, and P7 billion in unliquidated cash advances during Duterte’s term as education secretary.

Moreover, the complaints also referred to Commission on Audit (COA) reports that Davao City, under Duterte’s term as mayor, used over P2.735 billion in confidential funds from 2010 to 2022.

According to the complainants, when asked about these deficiencies and how public funds were spent during the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives budget hearings in 2023, Duterte reportedly “resorted to personal attacks against critics, red-tagging, and blanket denial of allegations that the funds had been spent inappropriately.”

The complainants also cited the testimony of Ramil “Ram” Madriaga, one of Duterte’s reported intelligence operatives and campaign operators, who founded the Inday Sara is My President (ISIP) Movement.

They said that Madriaga submitted an affidavit dated Nov. 29, 2025 which said that “large sums of money taken from Duterte’s confidential funds at the OVP and the DepEd” were delivered to several persons under her instructions.

The complainants added that Duterte allegedly converted and diverted the subject confidential funds for their own personal use, contrary to the actual purposes for which the same was earmarked.

The complainants also accused Duterte of amassing ill-gotten wealth and engaging in money laundering involving more than P111 million, which was deposited to her personal accounts, and more than P2.4 billion deposited to an account she held jointly with her father, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, and husband lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio from 2007 to 2015.

Despite the Duterte family’s strong stance against illegal drugs, Trillanes and the other complainants accused them of engaging in bribery and the unexplained receipt of hundreds of millions of funds from alleged drug personalities such as Samuel Uy and Michael Yang.

Trillanes and the group also questioned Duterte’s acquisition of hundreds of firearms, which they suspect is for a “private army,” as well as the alleged coddling of fugitive pastor Apollo Quiboloy, a person indicted of human trafficking, sex trafficking of minors, and child abuse.

The complainants expressed belief that Duterte  is not fit to continue serving the country as Vice President.

In October 2025, Trillanes also filed plunder complaints against the Vice President, detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, and Sen. Bong Go over their alleged involvement in the diversion of billions of pesos in government funds for infrastructure projects in Davao.