Witness alleges role as Duterte fund courier in House impeachment bid

By Erika Mae P. Sinaking and Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporters

A WITNESS at a House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday alleged that he acted as a private courier for Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, delivering millions of pesos in confidential funds to various recipients, in testimony that directly contradicts her earlier denial of any link to him.

“Her denial of any affiliation with me is absolutely false,” Ramil L. Madriaga told the House Justice Committee. “She lied under oath in her perjury complaint against me.”

Salvador Paolo A. Panelo, Jr., one of Ms. Duterte’s lawyers, dismissed the allegations as “pure fiction,” saying the claims could ultimately bolster her legal defense.

“I have repeatedly said that making Madriaga testify would just reveal his lack of credibility and expose his lie,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Madriaga, who is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa on separate kidnapping charges, appeared before the committee as part of a “clarificatory inquiry” tied to the impeachment case against the Vice-President over alleged misuse of public funds and unexplained wealth.

He detailed a Dec. 20, 2022 operation involving the transport of P125 million in confidential funds of the Office of the Vice-President. He also described a coordinated effort at the Department of Education headquarters in Pasig City, where Ms. Duterte was concurrently serving as secretary, and alleged that he oversaw the transfer of large bags of money from government vehicles to private cars with the help of security officials.

“This is wrong because I personally disposed the money in less than 24 hours,” he said, disputing earlier reports that the funds were spent over an 11-day period.

‘DUMMY’
Mr. Madriaga said a security official told him that each bag contained P30 million to P35 million, which he described as bundles of P1,000 bills sealed in plastic.

He claimed the funds were later delivered to several locations, including a politician in Cabuyao, Laguna, a comedy bar in Quezon City and the parking area of the Office of the Ombudsman.

The witness said his association with Ms. Duterte dates back to 2018, when he was introduced to her by her father former President Rodrigo R. Duterte (PRRD). He also admitted to acting as a “dummy” in financial transactions linked to the Duterte family.

Mr. Madriaga was a former aide of the ex-President.

“I admit that during PRRD’s term as President, I served as a dummy for the transfer of a large amount of money,” he said, adding that millions of pesos passed through bank accounts opened in his name by associates of the former President. He said he received a monthly salary of P100,000 to P150,000.

Mr. Madriaga said he has signed a waiver of bank secrecy laws to let investigators access his financial records, which he said would support his claims.

He also alleged that the 2021 UniTeam alliance between President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Ms. Duterte included a term-sharing arrangement under which Mr. Marcos would step down in 2025, although he did not present documentary evidence during the hearing. He claimed that contingency measures had been discussed if the agreement was not honored.

House Justice Committee Chairperson Gerville R. Luistro said the proceedings are meant to determine whether there is sufficient basis to elevate the case to the Senate for trial.

“This committee, therefore, is not overstepping,” she said. “We are not improvising. We are not experimenting. We are simply following the rules, grounded in the Constitution.”

Lawmakers said the House body is working to establish probable cause after finding impeachment complaints sufficient in form, substance and grounds. They cited the presence of witnesses and submission of subpoenaed records as key developments in the proceedings.

Ms. Duterte did not attend Tuesday’s hearing. Michael Wesley T. Poa, her former spokesman, appeared as a resource person but clarified that he was participating in his capacity as a former Education official, not as legal counsel.

The committee said it would continue reviewing financial and notarial documents as the inquiry proceeds, with further hearings expected.

Mr. Panelo said the defense team is prepared to rebut the allegations “point by point” if needed.

In a separate statement, he reiterated that their earlier characterization of Mr. Madriaga as the “weakest link” in the case had been “fully vindicated,” citing what he described as inconsistencies in the witness’ account and his failure to address issues raised in a perjury complaint filed by the Vice-President.

Mr. Panelo also questioned the plausibility of the allegations, saying it was unlikely that Ms. Duterte and her father would entrust sensitive matters to someone outside formal security channels, especially a person he said was linked by police to a kidnapping-for-ransom case.