Sara Duterte's perjury complaint vs Ramil Madriaga junked

The Office of the City Prosecutor of Taguig has dismissed the perjury complaint filed by Vice President Sara Duterte against alleged former bagman Ramil Madriaga.

“Wherefore, premises considered, it is respectfully recommended that instant complaint for Perjury against Ramil Lagunoy Madriaga, a.k.a. Ramil Lagonoy Madriaga, be dismissed for lack of prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty to conviction,” Assistant City Prosecutor Duke Thaddeus Maog said in the resolution dated September 2.

Madriaga, who identified himself as a former aide and bagman of Duterte, alleged that drug dealers and Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) operators were funding the campaign “Inday Sara Duterte is My President (ISIP) Pilipinas.”

The prosecutors said that while Madriaga and Duterte’s evidence certainly contradict each other in some points, it is not the task of the office to determine the ultimate truth of the allegations,

“The sole issue is whether the evidence presently on record establishes the elements of perjury with the quantum of proof required under the 2024 DOJ-NPS (Department of Justice National Prosecution Office) Rules on Preliminary Investigation and Inquest Proceedings. On this point, the evidence is wanting,” Maog said.

Perjury is not established just because one version of events seem more probably than the other, he added.

The perjury complaint stemmed from an affidavit filed by Madriaga on November 29, 2025. In the affidavit, Madriaga claimed that he was tasked by Duterte to organize the ISIP group for her presidential candidacy. The former aide said that Duterte herself funded ISIP’s activities, along with other campaign organizations.

In the same affidavit, Madriaga said that he personally handled the delivery of confidential funds, including deliveries of bags containing P33 million to P35 million, as well as a vehicle which had P80 million.

Finally, Madriaga also accused Duterte of using Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators to fund the activities of ISIP Pilipinas.

In her perjury complaint, Duterte said that Madriaga’s accusations were disproven by certifications from the Presidential Security Command, Office of the Vice President, Davao City Government, among others.

She also claimed that Madriaga crafted his statements from publicly available information.

“VP Duterte maintained that all the elements of perjury under Article 183 were present because respondent knowingly executed a sworn affidavit containing material falsehoods before a competent officer for a legal purpose, the affidavit having been intended for and eventually submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman,” Maog wrote.

In return, Madriaga said that his testimony was only corroborated by Duterte’s affidavits and documentary evidence. He also said that he never claimed to have a plantilla position within the Presidential Security Group and the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, so certifications saying otherwise did not prove anything.

“Finally, respondent submitted additional photographs and documentary evidence, including photographs allegedly showing the vehicle and cash referred to in his affidavit, which he claimed corroborated his original statements,” Maog said.

GMA News Online has reached out to Duterte's legal counsel and will update the story once they respond. —AOL, GMA News