Controversial witness Ramil Madriaga is expected to be a key figure when the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte go before the House Committee on Justice to determine their form and substance.
The House panel on Saturday disclosed that a thorough reading and evaluation of the two complaints against VP Duterte will include the review of the affidavit submitted by Madriaga, her former aide.
Madriaga, who has been detained on kidnapping charges since 2023, has emerged as a key figure in efforts to oust Vice President Sara Duterte.
His role primarily involves providing an affidavit with allegations of financial misconduct, which has been incorporated into multiple impeachment complaints filed against her.
House Deputy Majority Leader Gil “Kabarangay Jr.” Acosta, an ex officio member of the House Committee on Justice, confirmed the inclusion of Madriaga in the public hearings through his lawyer, Raymund Palad.
Palad said Ramil Madriaga is prepared to face the impeachment process of Duterte and is willing to appear before Congress, the Senate, or the Office of the Ombudsman once formally summoned.
“He knows this because he studied law. He understands that by executing an affidavit, he could be summoned to Congress, the Senate, or the Ombudsman,” Palad said during the same media forum.
“So his willingness is there; once he receives a subpoena or is formally summoned, he will appear.”
Palad said neither he nor his client has been approached by those involved in the charges against VP Duterte, adding that they learned only through news reports that Madriaga’s affidavit was cited as the basis for one of the impeachment grounds.
Palad claims evidence ready
Should the case proceed to trial, Palad said they are prepared to present all available evidence, including electronic records.
Palad names Michael Yang and Ling Wei Xiong in Madriaga’s account of money pickups and deliveries that allegedly benefited VP Duterte.
Asked if the Yang mentioned was the former adviser on economic affairs or a consultant of then-President Rodrigo Duterte, Palad answered in the affirmative.
“Yes,” he said, adding that Ling Wei Xiong was among those previously summoned by the Quad Committee that previously probed VP Duterte.
“Ling Wei Xiong — the one being summoned by the Quad Committee, who is reportedly in Hong Kong and allegedly involved in illegal drugs, is among the names he has been mentioning,” Palad alleged.
He explained that the references to the two names arose from specific encounters tied to the handling of money.
Worthless effort
VP Duterte, however, slammed the latest impeachment complaint filed by Akbayan, calling it a “piece of paper” without any supporting evidence.
“This is nothing new. Recall that the impeachment filed against me was their response to my departure from the Cabinet — a step taken because the President could no longer explain the country’s continued slide into poverty brought about by his neglect and vices,” VP Duterte said in a video message on her Facebook page.
She also recalled that in the 19th Congress, her critics and political enemies even opened an “investigation in aid of legislation” not for the purpose of crafting laws, but to conduct a clear “fishing expedition” for the planned impeachment against her.
“This is nothing new. Recall that the impeachment filed against me was their response to my departure from the Cabinet — a step taken because the President could no longer explain the country’s continued slide into poverty brought about by his neglect and vices,” she said.
Duterte added that this was followed by the alleged buying of signatures for her impeachment and the so-called ‘for later release projects’ that were allegedly promised to some members of the House to push for her impeachment, events that some lawmakers themselves have admitted in their previous statements.
According to her, Akbayan had no credibility to endorse or submit an impeachment complaint, claiming that their chief, Senator Risa Hontiveros, has openly declared her intention to run for president several times, a clear indication of the political motives behind the group’s actions.
“Let us not forget the historic speech delivered in August 2024 by Risa Hontiveros, where she clearly laid out the true motives of Akbayan as a group,” Duterte said.
Desperate Sara
The Akbayan partylist countered, saying the Vice President was being too desperate and that she should stop giving excuses.
“For something that she insists has no merit, it rattled her enough to make her release a video message — not to answer the charges, but to desperately attack us,” the group said via Facebook.
They added, “Enough excuses. Prepare to go down in history as the first vice president to be impeached — not once, but twice.”
The Vice President, Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Kiko Aquino-Dee, said that she is still silent about the grave threats that she issued against high-ranking government officials.
He said they cannot think of any justification for why such threats of violence and killing would not be considered an impeachable offense.
However, the group said they are open to listening to the arguments and evidence that Sara’s camp will present on the matter so they can understand her perspective.
The group added, especially since it appears that many of those she threatened have also committed numerous wrongs against the people.