Philippine crony govellment contract looting lawsuit deepens Duterte’s legal woes

Former Philippine opposition senator accuses former president Rodrigo Duterte in an indictment filed Friday that accused him of working with his assistant to award millions of dollars in government infrastructure contracts to his cronies.

The indictment filed at the Department of Justice in Manila adds to the former president’s legal concerns, which include an investigation by the International Criminal Court into allegations of crimes against humanity over the mass killings of suspects during the Duterte administration. drug repression.

Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said two construction companies, owned by the father and brother of longtime Duterte aide and now Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, won more than 100 government construction contracts worth at least 6.6 billion pesos ($114 million) between 2007 and 2018 in the southern city of Davao, when Duterte was mayor. Neither company had the resources or manpower to undertake large-scale infrastructure construction, according to Trillanes.

Duterte and Go did not immediately comment on the matter, but have previously denied any wrongdoing while in office.

Trillanes accused Duterte, Go and relatives who owned both companies of plunder. Under Philippine law, the crime of plunder is committed when a government official acquires illicitly acquired wealth of 50 million pesos ($862,000) or more in government funds through corrupt activities in conjunction with family or associates. It is punishable by life imprisonment. The government can also seize illicitly acquired wealth or properties upon conviction.

Go, “in cahoots with Mr. Duterte, used his position, authority and influence to hijack billions of dollars in government projects for his father and brother, thereby unjustly enriching himself and his immediate family members,” Trillanes said. “Now is the perfect time to hold them accountable.” He added, without elaborating, that the former president will face more lawsuits in the future.

Government prosecutors will conduct their own investigation before deciding whether to charge Duterte and the other defendants, a process that could take months or years.

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Duterte, 79, served as long-time mayor and vice mayor of Davao before taking office in 2016, promising to quickly rid his Southeast Asian country of corruption and illegal drugs — something he famously failed to achieve.

Duterte’s six-year presidency, one of Asia’s most unorthodox recent leaders, has been marked by outbursts full of curses and highly publicized efforts to cultivate close ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin while openly criticizing U.S. and European leaders.

Duterte, a former government prosecutor and legislator, launched a police-led crackdown on illegal drugs while serving as mayor and vice mayor for his daughter, Sara Duterte, in Davao City and later as president. Those campaigns killed more than 6,000 suspects, mostly minors. The campaign was unprecedented in its scale and lethality in recent Philippine history and sparked alarm around the world.

Duterte and senior police officials have denied authorizing extrajudicial killings during the campaign, but he has openly threatened drug traffickers with death and encouraged police to shoot drug suspects who violently resist arrest.