House asked to take custody of Madriaga
Akbayan party list Rep. Chel Diokno has asked the House committee on justice to take custody of Ramil Madriaga to ensure his safety and availability, while it discusses the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Diokno made the suggestion in his March 5 letter to the committee chair, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, noting that Madriaga is a material witness in the impeachment case against Duterte. Madriaga is currently detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City.
At the same time, Diokno asked the panel to compel the production of key documents that would be important in evaluating the evidence presented against Duterte.
“To achieve this mandate and facilitate the proceedings, I respectfully move that subpoena duces tecum be issued as follows,” he said.
Diokno’s letter was written as a motion, with other committee members—Mamamayang Liberal party list Rep. Leila de Lima, Akbayan party list Rep. Percival Cendaña and Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao—seconding the motion.
The House committee earlier declared the two remaining impeachment complaints against the Vice President as sufficient in form and substance. There were originally four, but the first complaint was set aside, while the second one was withdrawn by the petitioners.
All four complaints contained allegations that are similar to the botched impeachment attempt in February 2025—from allegations of confidential funds misuse, threats against ranking officials, bribery of officials and other possible violations of the 1987 Constitution.
New factor
The new factor in the complaints, however, is the testimony of Madriaga, Duterte’s alleged former aide.
Madriaga previously asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate her for alleged corrupt activities, claiming that he was responsible for “transporting large amounts of money to several persons as instructed by VP Sara.”
His testimony was cited in one of the remaining complaints, with the petitioners calling his claims a clear confirmation of how Duterte “actually converted and diverted the subject confidential funds for her own personal use, contrary to the actual purposes for which the same was earmarked for and/or purportedly disbursed.”
Duterte, however, filed on March 4 a perjury complaint against Madriaga as she denied his allegations and tagged him as part of a kidnap-for-ransom group that was supposedly planning to assassinate her.
In her 340-page complaint, mostly composed of annexes, including affidavits from her security team and organizers of her vice presidential campaign, Duterte insisted she has no personal or professional relationship with Madriaga.
Alleged threat
The following day, Madriaga’s lawyer, Raymund Palad, said that based on a report he received, his client was walking on the second floor of the Delta Dormitory of the Metro Manila District Jail Annex 2 in Bicutan, Taguig City, when a man with a big physique allegedly blocked his way.
Palad added that his client has been hearing rumors that there is a P5-million bounty for anyone in the cell who can kill him. In response, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology said that it has not observed any threat to his life.
The National Bureau of Investigation later deployed an agent to Madriaga’s detention facility to ensure his safety and “peace of mind.” Duterte’s camp, for their part, said the Vice President wants him to stay unharmed for an eventual confession.
“VP Sara has nothing to do with any death threats to Madriaga and we join any calls to provide him with additional protection,” said Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., Duterte’s lawyer for the perjury complaint she filed against Madriaga.
