Sara’s ex-aide tells graft body about ‘cash deliveries’
A former aide of then Davao City mayor and now Vice President Sara Duterte alleged in an affidavit that he delivered large sums of money to individuals on her orders, and asked the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday to investigate if she violated any law.
Ramil Madriaga, through the Palad Lauron Palad & Te Law Firm that serves as his counsel, submitted his notarized affidavit and letter to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, asking him to initiate an investigation against her.
“We submit this referral in deference to the Ombudsman’s authority to investigate and act upon acts or omissions of public officers and employees,” the law firm said in its letter to Remulla. The Ombudsman did not respond to reporters’ questions on the matter.
Sought for comment, the Office of the Vice President referred the Inquirer to its statement issued last Saturday in response to the plunder and other criminal charges filed by civil society leaders a day earlier against the Vice President over her alleged misuse of P612.5-million confidential fund.
In that statement, the Vice President called the complaint as yet “another fishing expedition” meant to divert public attention away from the public works corruption scandal.
Madriaga is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, in connection with a kidnapping case that he’s facing before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC). This stemmed from the abduction of two Chinese nationals in 2022.
In his affidavit, notarized by lawyer Cynthia Viñas-Pantonal, Madriaga claimed that he was tapped to work for Duterte in 2018, when she was Davao City mayor, to do intelligence gathering. He was introduced to her by her own father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. He worked for the National Security Council and Presidential Security Group (PSG) during the Duterte administration.
‘Duffel bags of money’
He said he formed the movement, Inday Sara Duterte Is My President (Isip), together with her former classmates at the San Sebastian College of Law, in 2020 in preparation for the 2022 presidential elections. He alleged that this was funded by Philippine offshore gaming operators and drug dealers.
When she was elected Vice President in May 2022, Madriaga said he was tasked to form the Vice President Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).
From July 2022 to April 2023, he worked with then VPSPG head Col. Raymund Dante Lachica and Col. Dennis Nolasco, then commandant of the PSG Training School. Their tasks included securing Sara Duterte, relaying confidential information, and transporting large sums of money on her instructions.
‘Shabu’ at BOC
Madriaga recalled that in December 2022, he delivered a duffel bag filled with money to a representative of a mayor in Laguna province and to a comedy bar in Quezon City, frequented by alumni of San Sebastian College of Law. He left another duffel bag of money in a car that he parked and then left inside the Ombudsman compound in Quezon City, placing the key on top of the left front tire. He claimed each bag contained P33 million to P35 million.
In the same period, he was ordered by Nolasco to drive a Toyota Vios car carrying roughly P80 million to the parking lot of a mall in Mandaluyong City and leave it there. He claimed he later saw the same car being driven by the wife an Ombudsman prosecutor.
In January 2022, Madriaga said he twice delivered cash of undetermined amount by car to a certain Santiago family in a gated village in Novaliches, Quezon City, on Sara Duterte’s instruction.
Madriaga also alleged that he was also instructed by Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, to facilitate the release of magnetic lifters purportedly containing methamphetamine hydrochloride, or “shabu,” at the Bureau of Customs (BOC). He did not mention a specific date, but this happened on Rodrigo Duterte’s watch.
‘First step forward’
Raymund Palad, a member of the law firm representing Madriaga, said the Ombudsman can open a fact-finding investigation of his client’s affidavit and its investigators can subpoena his phones that are under the custody of the Manila RTC.
His phones contained pieces of evidence that would prove the allegations in his affidavit, he said.
“The Ombudsman has the power to hold a video conference with Madriaga, if they want to, or much better if they will speak to him personally at the BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology),” Palad told the Inquirer by phone. “This is our first step forward.”
Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc called on the House quad committee to resume its congressional investigations into the Vice President’s alleged misuse of confidential funds following Madriaga’s revelations.
ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago and Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co urged the panel to reopen its inquiries. It’s composed of the committees on good government, public accounts, human rights and public order and safety.
“These are not mere political accusations—these are detailed allegations under oath that connect the Office of the Vice President to criminal syndicates, illegal gambling operations, and the drug trade that has claimed thousands of Filipino lives,” they said. “The Filipino people deserve answers.” —WITH A REPORT FROM KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
