Sara Duterte trial: Where is Ramil Madriaga now in prosecution’s case?
MANILA, Philippines – The prosecution had its chance on Monday, August 17, to use an Office of the Vice President (OVP) executive to corroborate the testimony of Sara Duterte’s self-confessed bagman Ramil Madriaga, but it didn’t grab the opportunity, or at least not yet.
Madriaga was once seen as a star witness against the Vice President, claiming before the House justice committee during its impeachment proceeding in April that he had received cash-filled bags from Duterte’s security officer Raymund Lachica for delivery to various individuals on December 20, 2022.
He believes the cold cash came from the confidential funds of the OVP for that quarter, amounting to P125 million.
Madriaga name-dropped special disbursing officer Gina Acosta in his affidavit back in April, saying that Lachica was with the OVP SDO during the turnover of the bags inside Department of Education (DepEd) premises.
Four bags
One major common denominator in Acosta’s and Madriaga’s testimonies was the existence of four bags in relation to the confidential funds.
Madriaga had identified four dark bags in the transfer — each containing P30 million to P35 million.
Acosta confirmed that after encashing the check for the confidential funds at the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) Shaw Boulevard branch around 2 pm, she placed the cash in four “oblong” bags.
Where their testimonies diverge was on what happened after. Acosta said the agency’s vehicles went straight to the OVP, not the DepEd compound.
The prosecution did not question this narration of events by Acosta even though the House impeachment articles against Duterte cited Madriaga’s April 2026 affidavit which detailed the turnover of cash and subsequent deliveries to various locations in Laguna and Quezon City.
“A few years later, I read from several media reports that P125 million in OVP confidential funds in 2022 were reportedly utilized in just 11 days. This is wrong because I personally disposed the money in less than 24 hours,” Madriaga had told the House justice committee in April.
Witness stand
Prosecutor Jay Tolosa cites the sub judice rule when asked whether their team intends to touch on Madriaga’s supposed link to Acosta when they resume their direct examination of the OVP SDO on Tuesday, August 18.
Despite giving the House the catchiest soundbite, Madriaga’s role in the trial is anything but certain.
“It is being discussed in the prosecution panel if the testimony and affidavit issued by Madriaga will be material in this article that is being tried at the impeachment court,” prosecution impeachment adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers told Rappler.
“Every time we present a witness, we always assess whether the concurrent witnesses have hit the target, so we can evaluate whether or not there’s a need to present the succeeding witnesses,” Tolosa added.
Acosta’s appearance before the court comes as Duterte filed her second perjury complaint against Madriaga on Monday.
The criminal complaint, filed with the Taguig City prosecutor’s office, was in response to Madriaga’s April 2026 affidavit. – Rappler.com
