MANILA Representative. Joel R. Chua, chairperson of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said Tuesday night that Ramil L. Madriaga’s bank secrecy waiver is necessary for the Committee on Justice to verify whether the cash transfers he claimed to have made on the Dutertes’ behalf actually took place.
“Well, ito ‘yung pagpapatotoo sa mga pumasok na pera doon sa kanyang bank account. Kagaya ng sinasabi po niya na siya ay ginawang dummy, kung saan may mga transaksyon po ginamit po siya pinadaan yung mga pondo at ang ilan po dito ay malalaking amount at may pagkakataon na ginagamit po ito pang launder ng pera,” he told One PH in an interview.
Madriaga signed a bank secrecy waiver before the justice committee during Tuesday’s hearing, authorizing the panel to examine transactions from the six bank accounts listed in his affidavit.
These accounts, he said, were opened for him by close Duterte associates and used to transfer millions of pesos to Malacañang and various safehouses on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s orders.
“Kung maalala po ninyo, may mga ilang bangko po na binanggit po niya na ginamit doon para pasukan ng malalaking amount ng pera. So dito siguro, gusto niya patunayan na lahat ng mga transaksyon ng kanyang sinaad ay talagang nangyari,” Chua said.
Chua further stressed that Madriaga’s affidavits help piece together the testimonies of the special disbursing officers on how the P612.5 million in confidential funds were encashed and transferred to Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s security personnel, Col. Dennis Nolasco and Col. Raymund Dante Lachica.
These details first emerged during the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s 2024 investigation into the OVP’s and DepEd’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.
“So kanina, lumalabas na ‘yung pera pala ay tinurnover dito po kay Madriaga base po sa kanyang sinumpaang salaysay at ito naman ay kanyang dinistribute sa tatlong tao, o sa tatlong lugar,” Chua said.
According to Madriaga, he worked with Nolasco and Lachica from July 2022 to April 2023, transporting large amounts of cash to various individuals “as instructed by Sara.”
He said Duterte personally called him in December 2022 to coordinate with her security personnel and deliver four cash-filled duffel bags to the parking lot of the Office of the Ombudsman, a comedy bar in Quezon City, and to her political allies in Laguna.
When Madriaga learned from news reports that the OVP had spent P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days, he said this was not accurate as he had “personally disposed” of the cash in less than 24 hours.
These were among the funds the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged with a notice of disallowance for failing to comply with the requirements of COA-DBM Joint Circular 2015-01, which governs how government agencies are required to use, disburse, and report their confidential and intelligence funds.
“So dito po, nakita po natin kagaya po ng kanyang salaysay, sinabi nga niya na hindi po totoo na 11 days na inubos ang P125 million. Kanina, sinasabi niya less than 24 hours naidistribute na ang P125 million,” Chua said.
He described Madriaga’s testimony as “very explosive” and “shocking,” emphasizing how it’s the first time the public is hearing direct accounts of the Duterte family’s alleged involvement in a multi-million peso laundering scheme.
When asked whether Madriaga would still be needed at the next hearing, Chua said he believes the justice committee had already “extensively” covered its clarificatory questions to the alleged bagman.
Since the hearings are not a trial, the committee is limited to questions confined to the affidavits, and Chua said that was largely accomplished Tuesday.
Other lawmakers, however, may still request the opportunity to pose additional clarificatory questions to Madriaga at the next hearing, scheduled for April 22, should they deem it necessary.
