Secretary Bong Go of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President. MALACAÑANG PHOTO
Updated (7:55 p.m.)
Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go on Monday asked Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to start “as soon as possible” the Senate hearing on the alleged “billions of pesos” worth of projects that his family’s firms bagged in Davao City.
“I am even asking Trillanes to start as soon as possible. Kahit bukas agad pwede akong sumalang sa Senado, para naman mabisita ko s’ya kung saan sya nagtatago,” Go said in a statement.
The remark of the President’s trusted aide came after Trillanes announced that he would file a Senate resolution to investigate the alleged “billions of pesos” worth of infrastructure projects in Davao City that were clinched by construction companies owned by Go’s father and brother-in-law.
READ: Trillanes to seek Senate probe on Bong Go’s projects
“I will be more than happy to face the inquiry as this will give me another chance to prove my non-involvement and another Senate appearance will also give me free media mileage,” Go said.
The presidential aide also maintained that his family never benefitted from government contracts, saying allegations of corruption against him were mere propaganda.
Go went further to dare Trillanes to resign if the allegations against him will be found fake and concocted.
“In the course of the investigation, if my involvement will be proven and substantiated by facts and documents, I will immediately tender my resignation. But if the allegations are fake and concocted then my accuser, Senator Trillanes, should resign,” he said.
Go earlier called the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) reports on his public works contracts as “false news guised as investigative reports,” which he said seemed to be politically motivated.
In its reports, the PCIJ said construction firms belonging to Go’s relatives got multi-billion-peso contracts in the government’s infrastructure program while partnering with bigger companies.
“If anyone can point that I or any of my family were involved in any form of corruption, then I will resign. (A good name) is the only thing that I can be proud of. Even a single peso, I never participated in any government transaction,” Go told reporters in Davao City on Saturday during the arrival of President Rodrigo Duterte from the Middle East trip.
“I also observe delicadeza. During the stint of the president as Davao City mayor for 20 years, I forbade my family from transacting with the city hall. If anyone can point that we entered into any form of corruption, I will resign,” he said, adding that he has discussed with the president the allegations hurled against him.
“Let them be. That’s just politics,” Go quoted the president as saying.
“But if the allegations are (proven) fake and concocted, then my accuser, Senator Trillanes, should resign,” the presidential aide said.