Trillanes taking Gordon to Ombudsman

SENATOR ANTONIO “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV is filing plunder and criminal cases against Senator Richard J. Gordon before the Office of the Ombudsman today, Nov. 8, over alleged corruption involving funds for the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), where the latter serves as chairman.

At yesterday’s Kapihan sa Senado, Mr. Trillanes accused his fellow senator of using the Red Cross “for his own interest.”

“This is in relation dun sa pag-plunder nya ng pondo ng gobyerno na pina-allocate nya sa Red Cross (This is in relation to plundered government funds that he allocated to Red Cross), said Mr. Trillanes.

The money allegedly came from Mr. Gordon’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), also known as the pork barrel.

“It’s more than the P50-M threshold,” Mr. Trillanes added.

He also intends to furnish his colleagues in the Senate all of the testimonial and documentary evidence once the case is filed.

Along with the plunder case, the Mr. Trillanes said he “will also submit to the Commission on Audit (CoA) requesting to conduct a special audit on PRC, especially on the government funds.”

Further, he will also request the International Red Cross to investigate the matter.

Mr. Trillanes said there are “more anomalies” he is checking on involving Mr. Gordon.

Sought for comment, the staff of Mr. Gordon said they were still waiting for the statement of the senator as of press time. Mr. Gordon is currently in Antalya, Turkey for the Statutory Meetings of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. — Arjay L. Balinbin