PLUNDER CLAIMS | Former senator urges special audit of construction firms owned by the family of Duterte’s ally

July 9, 2021 , 09:48 PM

By Beatrice Puente, News5 Digital

(July 9, 2021) – A former senator and a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday called on the state audit agency to closely examine the business transactions of two private construction firms with links to the leader’s former aide and close political ally.

Antonio Trillanes IV said the Commission on Audit (COA) should look into the deals made by CLTG and Alfrego Builders which obtained a total of P6.6-billion worth of contracts for road projects in the Davao Region from 2007 to 2018. Trillanes said the records of transactions are based on COA’s previous examinations.

He said the two companies are linked with Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go’s father and half-brother own the companies. The CLTG construction company stands for Go’s initials.

“I am calling on the Commission on Audit to conduct a special audit on all the transactions of Bong Go’s family, namely CLTG and Alfrego Builders, with the government based on the very same official documents they have given to me in 2019,” Trillanes said in a statement.

In a video, Trillanes said CLTG Builders, owned by Deciderio Lim, bagged 125 road construction projects worth P4.89 billion after Duterte came to power in 2016, accusing Go of using his influence to obtain the contracts even if the companies are not known to carry out millions of pesos of public infrastructure projects.

[READ: CONNIVANCE? | Trillanes hits Duterte, long-time aide with P6.6 billion plunder allegation]

Alfrego Builders, on the other hand, had 23 concreting and road-widening projects worth P1.3 billion in 2018. It got 59 projects from 2007 to 2018 where it earned P1.74 billion, according to data from COA and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Both companies only have a B-license, which makes them ineligible to get big-ticket projects with the government. Trillanes said they circumvented the law by entering into joint-venture agreements with Triple-A companies.

Go welcomed the former senator’s suggestion, insisting they had “nothing to hide” in all the transactions. He said there was nothing wrong even if his family got these publicly funded projects for he “never benefited from any of it”.

“Hinding-hindi ko uurungan yan dahil alam ko na malinis ang aking konsensya at wala akong batas na nilabag,” Go said. “Sa COA, mas mabuting paki-audit po. Wala naman po kaming tinatago. Very welcome para sa akin kung may independent body na mag-iimbestiga nito para lumabas ang katotohanan kung sino ang nagiimbento lamang ng mga paratang.”

Duterte, for his part, had earlier berated Trillanes for bringing up the same plunder accusation over the past couple of years, saying he was only trying to wield a stronger political influence. He also likened Trillanes to Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao.

“They want to, you know, hold power. Maybe they see a good opportunity for themselves,” Duterte said in an earlier address.

“Well, I leave Trillanes to you. You take care of that. He keeps on talking, but he won’t fight in a debate,” he added, addressing his chief legal counsel.

(MM)

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