Madriaga: I disposed of P125M on VP’s orders in 24 hours
Ramil Madriaga, a man who claimed to have helped organize a campaign network for Vice President Sara Duterte in the 2022 elections, but is now presented as a key witness in the impeachment proceedings against her, delivered the expected bombshells on Tuesday—and then some.
Claiming to be Duterte’s “bagman” or courier during the years she concurrently served as education secretary, Madriaga recalled one instance where it took him only a day to deliver P125 million in cash drawn from her confidential funds to different places, including the Office of the Ombudsman.
It was in reference—and a correction—to remarks made by a House member in a hearing two years ago about the Vice President being able to spend such a huge amount of money in just 11 days.
Madriaga, who is currently in detention for a kidnapping case, was allowed by the court to appear before the House committee on justice on Tuesday as a witness in the impeachment complaints against Duterte.
He arrived under heavy guard and read a supplemental affidavit, part of which contained a narration of the trips he said he made on Dec. 20, 2022, to distribute the confidential funds.
The two impeachment complaints being evaluated by the House justice committee contained allegations similar to the complaints endorsed by the House for Senate trial in February 2025 but were ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court due to technicalities.
They include allegations of confidential funds being misused; threats made against President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then Speaker Martin Romualdez; bribery of public officials, and other culpable violations of the Constitution.
“I read from several media reports that the P125 million OVP (Office of the Vice President) confidential funds in 2022 were reportedly utilized in just 11 days. This is wrong because I personally disposed the money in less than 24 hours,” Madriaga told the panel.
He was referring to reports on the House deliberations on the 2024 national budget, where lawmakers questioned the OVP regarding the confidential funds it received in 2022.
How deliveries were made
Then Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said she was shocked to learn that the OVP had spent the funds in just 19 days, before getting a clarification from the Commission on Audit that, based on records, it was actually just 11 days.
In his testimony on Tuesday, Madriaga gave details of his alleged role in the delivery of the funds in cash to three different recipients.
He said Duterte herself directed him to coordinate with Col. Dennis Nolasco, the Vice President’s security officer, about deliveries to be made to her political allies in San Pablo City in Laguna province; a comedy bar in Quezon City; and the parking lot of the Office of the Ombudsman.
Quoting the Vice President, he said it was her way of “returning a favor.”
According to Madriaga, four large duffle bags containing around P30 million to P35 million each were unloaded from the vehicles they used.
“In the morning of Dec. 20, 2022, Sara called me and she said, ‘Sir Ram, please coordinate with Col. Nolasco. We have a delivery to San Pablo, Laguna, to Nightstrip (a comedy bar in Quezon City), and to the Ombudsman.’ Sara added, ‘bawi tayo sa kanila’ (we’re returning a favor). Later, I received a text message from her indicating the places of delivery…. and the corresponding contact numbers,” Madriaga said.
“Later that morning, Col. Nolasco sent me a text message directing me to go to DepEd (Department of Education) Central Office in Pasig City beside Ultra … around 1:30 p.m. for a ‘transport.’ Transport is short-hand for delivery or transportation of large sums of money between Col. Nolasco and me, upon the instructions of Sara,” he added.
As to the San Pablo delivery, Madriaga said they were later diverted to the City of Cabuyao in Laguna to meet a politician, whom he did not name.
There he saw “three persons standing in wait beside a dark sport utility vehicle.” One, he said, went to the Toyota Grandia used to deliver the money and “took one of the bags.”
At the Nommu Basho restaurant in Quezon City, Madriaga said, it was former OVP spokesperson Reynold Munsayac who met him at the in-house comedy bar Nightstrip. The place was said to be a frequent hangout of law graduates from San Sebastian College, he noted.
For the last delivery at the Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City, Madriaga said a guard “gave a signal directing us to park in a specific area in the OMB parking lot.”
“We proceeded to the specific area and parked the red Mazda sedan where the remaining two bags of money were placed. We left the keys on top of the left front wheel, which is our usual practice when delivering large amounts of money,” Madriaga said.
“Previously and upon direct instructions of PRRD (former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) or Sara, I have also delivered money to Ombudsman Samuel Martires or Atty. Ryan (Assistant Special Prosecutor Ryan Quilala) which I usually placed inside an open trunk of a designated car,” he added.
Secret fund
Duterte filed a perjury complaint against Madriaga last month, denying his allegations and tagging him as part of a kidnap-for-ransom group that was planning to assassinate her.
Duterte’s critics had argued the P125-million confidential funds allocated to the OVP should not have been allowed in the first place. They noted that the OVP’s original budget that year, crafted when Leni Robredo was still the Vice President, did not have such an item.
The allocation came to light in early 2023 after the OVP under Duterte released reports on her office’s budget utilization for 2022.
In a message to reporters at the time, the OVP sent a screenshot of a portion of the budget sheet called “Summary of appropriations, obligations, disbursements, and balances by object of expenditures,” which detailed expenses for personnel salaries and travels.
However, a portion of the budget reported by the OVP was redacted.
Eventually, the OVP clarified that it intended to highlight the portion regarding the confidential funds and not to hide it.
The highlighted portion showed a provision under “Special Purpose Funds.” Under it was the subcategory “Contingent Fund,” which then indicated “Confidential Expenses” amounting to P125 million.
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