VP’s ex-‘bagman’ submits affidavit vs ‘politicking’ Ombudsman lawyer
The lawyers of Ramil Madriaga, the confessed “bagman” of Vice President Sara Duterte, on Friday asked the Office of the Ombudsman to also look into the engagement of one of its prosecutors in “partisan political activities” that may warrant criminal and administrative cases.
Madriaga’s lawyers went to the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday and submitted the supplemental affidavit he read at the House justice committee during the resumption of its impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Raymund Palad, one of Madriaga’s lawyers, explained that the transmittal of the supplemental affidavit was brought by the Ombudsman’s order to Ryan Rey Quilala, an assistant special prosecutor, to explain that he supposedly received large sums of money for the Vice President.
Palad said the antigraft body should look into Quilala’s alleged participation in political activities, such as his supposed links to the Inday Sara Is my President (Isip), a movement in support of Duterte’s supposed presidential bid in the 2022 elections.
Aside from Madriaga’s supplemental affidavit, Palad also submitted as evidence an affidavit, executed by Quilala himself, admitting knowing Madriaga since 2003, when the latter faced the Supreme Court that reversed his kidnapping conviction.
Quilala’s affidavit was attached to the perjury complaint Duterte filed against Madriaga at the Taguig City prosecutor’s office, according to Palad. Duterte’s 340-page perjury complaint included among its annexes Quilala’s seven-page affidavit.
Palad told the Inquirer that Quilala’s affidavit constituted sufficient cause for the Ombudsman to investigate whether the lawyer engaged in political activities.
Complete probe
“We decided to attach those (separate affidavits of Madriaga and Quilala), so if the Ombudsman starts its investigation, they can provide it to Quilala and for a more complete investigation,” Palad told the Inquirer.
Quilala admitted in his affidavit that he was “friends” with Duterte and, sometime between 2018 and 2019, publicly said at a comedy bar that he planned to form the group “Isip Pilipinas” in support of the then Davao City mayor’s presidential bid.
Quilala was a former associate dean at San Sebastian College of Law and was purportedly one of Duterte’s former professors. He claimed that Madriaga told him he had a crush on Duterte and he “jokingly” told Madriaga “sometime in 2020” that he should form a group to persuade her to run for president.
“To my surprise, Madriaga took it seriously, and eventually, sought my permission to use “Isip Pilipinas” as the name for the group, which I allowed,” according to Quilala’s affidavit attached to the perjury complaint, adding that the group was funded by Madriaga “through his own efforts.”
Quilala also mentioned in his affidavit that he declined Madriaga’s offer to include him as an incorporator of Isip because of the existing prohibition on government employees to participate in political activities.
