Trillanes, civil society group file plunder, graft raps vs Sara Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV and members of a civil society group have filed plunder and graft complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte over the alleged misuse of her office’s confidential funds and other anomalies during her stints as education secretary and Davao City mayor.

 Trillanes and members of The Silent Majority (TSM) lodged the complaints against Duterte before the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday for her possible violation of the following laws:

• Republic Act (RA) No. 7080 or the Plunder Law
• RA No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act
• RA No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees
• Revised Penal Code (direct and/or indirect bribery)
• RA No. 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act
• RA No. 1379 or the law of forfeiture of ill-gotten wealth

In a statement released to the media during the filing, TSM founder Jocelyn Marie Acosta explained that the newly filed complaint builds on an earlier case involving the alleged misuse of confidential funds submitted by civil society groups in December 2025.

She said the new complaint covers alleged irregularities during Duterte’s terms as Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) and as mayor of Davao City, including claims that she received money from individuals linked to the illegal drug trade.

READ: Sara Duterte: Impeachment move just ‘fundraising’ among solons

The complaint alleged the large-scale misuse of public funds, including P650 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and the DepEd, as well as P2.7 billion in confidential funds during Duterte’s term as Davao City mayor.

It also flagged alleged irregularities in the P8-billion laptop procurement at DepEd, along with billions of pesos in audit disallowances and unliquidated cash advances under her watch.

The complaint further claimed that only 192 classrooms were built despite a target of more than 6,000, raising accusations of graft and gross incompetence, as well as Duterte’s alleged failure to declare more than P2 billion in assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, which complainants describe as ill-gotten wealth.

Additional allegations include bribery and corruption, citing claims that she received money from a drug personality while serving as mayor of Davao City, and that she is unfit to hold public office and guilty of betrayal of public trust, pointing to two public incidents in which she allegedly threatened President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“We appeal to the Ombudsman to act decisively on these complaints. Vice President Duterte must immediately answer for these crimes against the Filipino people,” Trillanes said. 

In addition, the complaint likewise asked the Office of the Ombudsman to recommend Duterte’s impeachment to Congress and initiate criminal proceedings since the vice president’s reported actions fall within the grounds under Article XI (accountability of public officers) of the 1987 Constitution. 

On December 15 last year, a coalition of priests, academics, rights advocates, and journalists, including Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, Fr. Roberto Reyes, and economist and former DOF Undersecretary Dr. Maria Cielo Magno, filed multiple criminal complaints — including plunder, bribery, malversation, and graft against Duterte over her alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds.

Apart from Duterte, the coalition named OVP Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez, as well as other officials from her office and the DepEd. 

The December complaint alleged that the P612.5 million confidential funds were “diverted, misused, and concealed through coordinated schemes” carried out across the OVP and the DepEd, which Duterte headed from 2022 to June 2024.

Broken down, the amount covers P500 million CFs allocated to OVP in 2022 and 2023 and P112.5 million during the time when she was the head of DepEd. 

In September 2024, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo confirmed that the P125 million CF of the OVP in 2022 was spent in just 11 days — quicker than the initial report of 19 days. /das/gsg