Manila, Philippines – Ramil Madriaga, who claimed to be former bagman of Vice President Sara Duterte, is being considered as a key witness in the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President.
During the Tuesday hearing of the House Justice Committee, the members of the panel discussed the contents of Madriaga’s supplemental affidavit—which states his alleged connection with Duterte.
However, for the Makabayan Bloc in the Congress, Madriaga’s statements were too detailed and included serious allegations to just be ignored.
With this, it is much more needed for Duterte to face the committee and personally answer the allegations.
The Makabayan bloc argued that the affidavit contains multiple leads that may be verifiable via documents, transaction trails, and other records that can be accessed by the Committee.
They added that should there be portion of the statements supported by records, this discloses serious implications on the integrity of public institutions: “Mabigat at masinsin ang salaysay, at masusuri sa dokumento at rekord kung totoo ang bawat detalyeng inilahad. Nakapaloob sa mga alegasyon ang mga pangalan, lugar, galaw ng pondo, at mga posibleng paper trail na puwedeng beripikahin.”
Given the weight of the accusations, Makabayan bloc believes that the ongoing proceedings is the proper venue to confront the witness, present the evidence, and for Duterte to have counterarguments.
It added that if Duterte remains to refuse showing up to the hearing, all while attacking witnesses, intensifies public speculation.
They likewise urged Duterte to show up, submit to the impeachment procedures, and defend herself against the allegations: “Pinakamainam na humarap mismo ang Bise Presidente sa pagdinig ng Komite sa Hustisya at sagutin ang mga alegasyon. Dapat manaig ang pananagutan, hindi ang pag-iwas.”
“Accountability cannot be selective, and due process is not served by refusing to show up while attempting to stop the proceedings from moving forward to the presentation and examination of evidence,” it added.
VP SARA’S CAMP, SEN. IMEE DEBUNK MADRIAGA’S CLAIMS
Duterte’s legal team, on the other hand, says that the result of the hearing only showed that Madriaga’s allegations are just fraud.
In a statement, Atty. Paolo Panelo argued that the evidence presented by Madriaga are irrelevant and immaterial—citing the prepaid phone calls that are unverifiable.
He emphasized that instead of strengthening the case, Madriaga’s statement just debunked his own claims.
Panelo argued that VP Sara and former President Rodrigo Duterte won’t be entrusting security and intelligence matters to Madriaga, who is not a member of the military-police chain of command and is accused of kidnapping.
Senator Imee Marcos also commented on the results of the hearings, directly calling Madriaga a liar.