Vice President Sara Z. Duterte on Monday appeared before the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office following the filing of the second perjury complaint against Mr. Ramil Madriaga. The Vice President was accompanied by her legal counsel, Atty. Paolo Panelo, during the filing.
COURTESY: Office of the Vice President
Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team will ask the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office to consolidate two perjury complaints against Ramil Madriaga, arguing that the cases involve related allegations and evidence and should be resolved together.
Duterte lawyer Paolo Panelo Jr. said Wednesday that the team would file a motion for consolidation even as the first complaint has already been submitted for resolution.
“We’re hoping for a consolidation so that it will be resolved together. Instead of doing two separate proceedings, one proceeding na lang, kasi related naman yung allegations, related din yung proof,” Panelo said during a virtual news briefing.
The first complaint was filed in March over statements Madriaga made in an earlier affidavit. The second, filed 17 August, challenges statements in a supplemental affidavit he executed on 11 April and later read before the House Committee on Justice during its impeachment proceedings against Duterte.
Panelo said the second complaint specifically challenges additional details Madriaga provided in the supplemental affidavit.
“Yung mga panibagong detalye na binigay niya doon sa supplemental affidavit niya, yun ang binasag namin dito sa second perjury complaint,” he said.
Panelo argued that the two affidavits essentially cover the same events and circumstances, making consolidation more practical.
“The testimonies of Madriaga in the first affidavit and his supplemental affidavit covers the same facts, events and circumstances,” he said.
Panelo said the 750-page second complaint contains five new affidavits from corroborating witnesses. Across the two complaints, Duterte’s legal team has submitted 12 corroborating witness affidavits.
Among the allegations challenged in the second complaint is Madriaga’s claim that he served as a “dummy” for former President Rodrigo Duterte in transferring large sums of money, including P100 million that he allegedly picked up from a bank inside a mall in Lubao, Pampanga.
Panelo said the Duterte camp obtained a certification from Lubao Mayor Esmeralda Pineda stating that no shopping mall or large-scale retail complex existed in the locality, which he said undermined Madriaga’s account.
Panelo also disputed Madriaga’s claim that the former president caused two Land Bank manager’s checks worth P84 million and P4.8 million to be issued in Madriaga’s name.
He said the Duterte camp believes the checks were fabricated, citing alleged differences between the documents presented by Madriaga and authentic Land Bank manager’s checks.
Panelo also challenged Madriaga’s claim that he delivered money to Assistant Special Prosecutor Ryan Quilala in the parking lot of the Office of the Ombudsman in December 2022.
He described the account as “highly improbable,” claiming Quilala was working from home throughout that month.
The perjury complaints are separate from Duterte’s impeachment proceedings, but Panelo said the legal team has provided the second complaint and its supporting evidence to the Vice President’s impeachment defense.
“We are transmitting a copy of the second perjury complaint and all of the evidence to the defense team para magamit nila sa impeachment,” Panelo said.
Madriaga’s supplemental affidavit was presented during the House proceedings that led to Duterte’s impeachment and contained allegations involving the handling of confidential funds and alleged money transfers. Duterte has denied the allegations.
Panelo said the consolidation effort is separate from how the impeachment defense decides to use the evidence.
If the Taguig prosecutor grants the motion, the two complaints would be evaluated together. Otherwise, the first complaint could be resolved while the second proceeds separately.
