Vice President Sara Duterte visited the jail facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on 19 October, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed, but he clarified that the visit was to dismissed Negros Oriental representative Arnie Teves and not to her alleged former aide and bagman, Ramil Madriaga.

The clarification was made amid the claim by Madriaga’s lawyer, Raymund Palad, that Duterte had visited his client twice to talk him out of revealing their supposed dealings.

Madriaga, who had been Duterte’s aide when she was Davao City mayor, had submitted an affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman alleging that he delivered large sums of money to various individuals on the Vice President’s orders.

Duterte has denied this, calling it a politically motivated attempt to derail her potential 2028 presidential bid.

“She went there, but she talked to Arnie Teves, not to Madriaga,” Remulla said.

The interior chief added that Duterte’s meeting with Teves was brief and largely ceremonial. He said a warden was present throughout and CCTV footage captured the visit.

“I think so. May records yung warden na pinakita (The warden showed the records). The warden was there, present during the meeting,” said Remulla, adding that the exchange was limited to general greetings and inquiries about Teves’ well-being.

“That was the extent of the report to me,” he said.

Teves is accused of masterminding the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo in March 2023, which also claimed the lives of eight provincial staffers and constituents. He fled the country afterward and sought asylum in East Timor, but its president ultimately denied his request and ordered his return to the Philippines.

Duterte’s visit to Teves has fueled speculation about the political dynamics surrounding both figures, but officials maintained the interaction was strictly a courtesy call with no substantive discussions.