A self-proclaimed “bagman” of Vice President Sara Duterte has accused her and her close circle of receiving drug and Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators (POGO) money through covert cash deliveries spanning several years and two administrations.

In a notarized affidavit dated 29 November 2025, Ramil Madriaga claimed he saw how money from POGO and drug-linked financiers was funneled to groups supporting Duterte’s political rise.

Among the groups, the affidavit said, included ISIP Pilipinas, a campaign organization Madriaga formed in 2020 in anticipation of Duterte’s presidential bid. 

Independent sources confirmed to DAILY TRIBUNE that ISIP was indeed established by Madriaga, who was arrested in 2023, along with alleged members of his gang, on kidnapping charges.

“The query was already relayed [to VP Duterte],” the Office of the Vice President said in response to questions seeking comment on Madriaga’s allegations. 

Earlier, a columnist (not DAILY TRIBUNE’s) had claimed a source had told him that Vice President Duterte had visited Madriaga several times at night while he was in detention. 

In the document, Madriaga claimed he saw the pickup of bags filled with cash at The Gate in Pampanga, Vertis North and Seda Hotel in Quezon City, and the Grand Hyatt in Bonifacio Global City. 

He said that in December 2022, he received orders from Col. Dennis Nolasco and Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, both of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, to distribute duffel bags containing between P33 million and P35 million each.

More deliveries

One delivery was allegedly made in Cabuyao, Laguna. Another occurred at a comedy bar in Quezon City, where Madriaga said he saw Vice President Duterte’s spokesperson, Reynold Munsayac, motioning for him to leave the money in an office. 

In reaction, Munsayac said that “the concocted story is preposterous.”

“A narration, to be believed, must not only proceed from the mouth of a credible person, but the story must be credible itself,” he said.

“Here, aside from the fact that it comes from a polluted source, the allegations simply defy logic and common human experience. I do not know him personally and never had any dealings with him. My interaction with the group ISIP is limited to Atty. Ryan Quilala. Thank you,” Munsayac added.

Sara’s husband, too

A third delivery allegedly involved leaving a cash-filled vehicle at the Office of the Ombudsman parking lot and depositing the keys in a designated location.

He said he later delivered a white Toyota Vios loaded with P80 million to SM Megamall. 

According to Madriaga, he later saw the same vehicle being driven by Rhea Quilala, said to be the wife of Ombudsman prosecutor Ryan Rey Quilala and reportedly a former classmate of Sara Duterte at the San Sebastian College of Law.

In another account, Madriaga said that in early 2020, he transported a Toyota Super Grandia containing P1 billion to two men waiting near Katarungan Village in Muntinlupa City. 

He claimed the delivery was later confirmed through a phone call from then President Rodrigo Duterte.

Madriaga further alleged that in January 2022, Sara Duterte instructed him via phone to retrieve a Honda Civic containing cash from a Kislap warehouse and deliver it to the Santiago family residence in Jordan Plains, Novaliches. 

He said he made a second delivery of a similar nature days later.

Madriaga also implicated the Vice President’s husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, saying Carpio ordered him during a meeting in Bonifacio Global City to pick up magnetic lifters from the Bureau of Customs. 

The plan was aborted, he said, after an intelligence tip warned that the shipment contained illegal drugs. 

When informed of the situation, he claimed Carpio told him to “do what is necessary.” He said he later learned that the magnetic lifters were released through broker Mark Taguba.

Madriaga detailed his alleged government assignments from 1993 to 2023, including stints at the Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, the National Security Council, the Presidential Security Group, and NBI units. 

He said he was introduced to Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 by the late Representative Roilo Golez and later served as a counter-intelligence agent for the National Security Council, providing inputs for “Oplan Double Barrel.”

The operation plan referred to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, which would claim about 7,000 lives according to police data, and would spur the elder Duterte’s arrest and trial before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Madriaga said he was introduced to Sara Duterte in 2018 and was instructed to gather political and counter-intelligence information for her. 

He claimed that when she became Vice President, he was tasked to help train the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, recommending Nolasco — formerly with the Presidential Security Group — to head it. 

Madriaga said he worked with Nolasco and Lachica from July 2022 to April 2023 in sensitive transport operations involving cash and classified information.

Lachica denial

In a statement, Lachica vehemently denied the allegations of Madriaga.

“I categorically state that I do not know Mr. Madriaga and had no personal or professional dealings with him at any time. Any assertion suggesting that I was associated with, recommended by, or worked with him is false and devoid of factual basis,” Lachica said.

He said assignments within the Armed Forces of the Philippines  (AFP) — particularly to security units supporting national officials — are governed by established procedures, formal vetting, and command authority. 

“As a career officer of the Philippine Army, I have always carried out my duties in accordance with lawful orders, established protocols, and the core values of the AFP. I take exception to the use of my name in narratives that lack verification or institutional grounding,” he added.

‘Dangerous crime syndicate’

The police arrested Madriaga and members of his alleged kidnap-for-ransom group in a series of operations in Cainta, Rizal. 

The suspects were apprehended on the strength of a warrant issued by Judge Alma Crispina Collado-Lacorte of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 21.

The PNP described the group as “one of the most dangerous criminal syndicates in recent history,” linking them to kidnappings, including the abduction of cousins Mark and William Lu in 2022. 

Police said Madriaga had previously been charged with kidnapping in 1997 but was acquitted by the Supreme Court.

Madriaga was also accused by former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson of attempted extortion years back.