THE impeachment hearings are the proper venue to uncover the truth about the P125 million confidential funds spent in 11 days, and Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s attempts to discredit alleged bagman Ramil L. Madriaga will not change that, Deputy Minority Leader Antonio L. Tinio of ACT Teachers Party-list said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Tinio dismissed claims by Duterte’s counsel, Atty. Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., that Madriaga is the “weakest link” in the impeachment proceedings. If that were truly the case, he said, it begged the question of why the vice president was hell-bent on stopping the April 14 hearing from proceeding.
“Kaya nga nagtataka tayo bakit sinasabi ng kampo ni vice president mahina raw, ‘weakest link.’ Eh bakit tumakbo sila sa Supreme Court para pigilan ang hearing na ito? ‘Yun mismo ang trabaho ng Committee on Justice bukas para kilatisin nga yung affidavit na ito kung may batayan o hindi,” Tinio said.
“Sa halip na siraan [si Madriaga], bukas na dapat ‘yung pagkakataon para kwestyunin nila ‘di ba at ipakita na kung sinasabi nilang wala talagang basis ang testimony ni Madriaga,” he added.
In a sworn affidavit submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman in December 2025, Madriaga claimed he allegedly personally delivered confidential funds under Duterte’s orders, working alongside Col. Dennis Nolasco and Col. Raymund Dante Lachica of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group between 2022 and 2023.
Both Nolasco and Lachica appeared before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s 2024 inquiry into the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.
The two security officers were identified by the agencies’ special disbursing officers as the individuals designated to receive the confidential funds — an arrangement lawmakers flagged as irregular, since disbursing officers are themselves tasked with carrying out such transactions. The impeachment complaints cite this finding as grounds to question whether the funds ever reached their intended recipients.
Tinio also stressed that the Committee on Justice’s hearing is the proper venue to examine Madriaga’s affidavit, test his credibility, and provide the Filipino people with answers to what happened to the P125 million confidential funds flagged by the Commission on Audit.
“Sa halip na pumitik-pitik sa labas, sa social media, ay ito nga ang venue para kilatisin yun. Kaya nga mayroon hearing. Yan ang purpose nito at kaya hindi rin masasabi na walang due process, dahil nandito ang pagkakataon para makilatis yung affidavit ni Madriaga,” he said.
For the deputy minority leader, Madriaga’s testimony stands to be one of the highlights of the impeachment hearings, not only because it is among the newest pieces of evidence cited in the complaints, but because it could serve as the missing link tying together all other testimonies against the vice president.
“Malamang ganun, dahil nga naka-focus ito doon sa question ng lahat eh: what happened to the P125 million? Nasaan ang P125 million? Malinaw kung titingnan natin ang mga accomplishment report na sinubmit ng Office of the Vice President na kasinungalingan ‘yun, hindi kapanipaniwala na naubos in 11 days ‘yung confidential funds,” Tinio said.
“So gusto ng mamamayan at dapat malaman ng mamamayan ang katotohanan at isang posibleng explanation kung ano talaga ang nangyari sa pondo ay nasa affidavit ni Madriaga,” he added.
Madriaga’s counsel, Atty. Raymund Palad, also defended his client against Panelo’s remarks, saying the timing of Duterte’s perjury and libel complaints against Madriaga raises serious questions about whether they are legitimate or merely an attempt to intimidate and discredit a key witness.
“Mr. Madriaga will address all allegations in the proper proceedings, under oath, where motives, timing, and credibility will be examined thoroughly,” Palad said in a statement on Sunday.
“We call on all parties to respect the process and refrain from trial by publicity. Let the hearing proceed. Let the evidence be presented. And let the Filipino people judge based on facts,” he added.
Asked whether the House should await the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Duterte camp’s petitions challenging the Committee on Justice’s jurisdiction before proceeding with the hearings, Tinio said Congress, as a co-equal branch of government, is simply fulfilling its constitutional mandate to determine probable cause.
“So constitutional mandate ‘yun, nasa constitution mismo na dapat magdaos ng hearing ang Committee on Justice. So hindi maaaring pigilan ito lalo pa at wala namang TRO na inissue,” he said.
House Committee on Public Accounts Chairperson Terry L. Ridon of Bicol Saro Party-list also confirmed Monday that the April 14 hearing will proceed as scheduled, with resource persons and witnesses set to testify on Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and death threats against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
