VP Sara faces new plunder, graft raps

Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed a multi-count criminal complaint Wednesday against Vice President Sara Duterte, alleging plunder, graft and malversation of public funds spanning her time as vice president, education secretary, and mayor of Davao City.

The complaint, filed at the Office of the Ombudsman alongside the civil society group The Silent Majority, centers on the alleged misuse of hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds and multibillion-peso irregularities within the Department of Education (DepEd).

“Sara Duterte has violated many laws, the constitution, and the trust of many Filipinos that were long overlooked,” said Jocelyn Marie Acosta, founder of The Silent Majority.

The complainants alleged that Duterte’s use of P650 million in confidential funds during her tenure as Vice President and Education secretary constitutes plunder. The filing cited her refusal to provide detailed explanations for the spending during 2024 congressional budget hearings.

“Respondent practically stonewalled all relevant questions... on how her office spent hundreds of millions of public funds,” the complaint stated.

Regarding her time as education secretary, the group alleged graft and malversation involving P8 billion in “overpriced” laptops and P7 billion in unliquidated cash advances.

They also cited gross incompetence, alleging only 192 classrooms were built out of a 6,000-classroom target.

The complaint further alleges that Duterte “squandered” P2.75 billion in confidential funds during her three terms as mayor of Davao City between 2010 and 2022.

The group claimed these amounts “dwarf those of even the most progressive and wealthiest cities” in the country.

Trillanes also submitted a sworn statement from Ramil Madriaga, a former aide who alleged in December 2025 that money from illegal offshore gaming operators and drug-linked financiers was used to fund Duterte’s political movements.

“We are calling on Ombudsman Boying Remulla to give attention to these cases,” Trillanes said, comparing the scale of the alleged anomalies to the flood control cases that previously led to the arrest of other high-ranking officials. “This is a significantly larger theft.”

The Vice President’s office has not yet issued a formal response to the newly filed charges.