The lawyer for a detained former staff member of Vice President Sara Duterte alleged Thursday that the Vice President visited his client in prison twice to persuade him to drop a kidnapping case and suppress an “exposé” involving illegal drug and POGO funding.

Atty. Raymund Palad, counsel for Ramil Madriaga disclosed in a briefing that Duterte visited the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Annex 2 in Bicutan, Taguig, to “settle” legal issues with Madriaga.

According to Palad, the visits were intended to stop Madriaga from going public with allegations that drug dealers and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) funded the “Inday Sara Duterte is My President” (ISIP) Pilipinas campaign.

“The first attempt was to persuade Madriaga to hold his exposé, and in return, Duterte would work for the dismissal of his case,” Palad said. He added that a second visit occurred around midnight on 19 October, but Madriaga refused to meet with her.

Madriaga is currently facing kidnapping charges, which his camp claims were “concocted” after he attempted to help residents in Mariveles, Bataan, involved in a land dispute with former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

Palad alleged that Madriaga originally sought Duterte’s help for the residents, but was ignored due to her ties with Roque.

The lawyer further claimed that Duterte’s staff later visited the facility under the guise of providing aid to inmates’ families, which Madriaga found suspicious.

“They were collecting the names of children, their ages, and addresses,” Palad said. “That was when Ramil became suspicious — there are so many jails in Bicutan, why only there?”

To support these claims, the legal team has requested the Office of the Ombudsman and the National Bureau of Investigation to subpoena and forensically examine three of Madriaga’s mobile phones, which are currently in the custody of a Manila court. Palad said the devices contain evidence of deliveries and the presence of Chinese militia in Bataan.

Palad cited that Madriaga had attempted to reach out to