Diokno asks House panel to take custody of Madriaga pending VP Sara impeach proceedings

House Deputy Minority Leader Chel Diokno of Akbayan party-list has asked the House committee on justice to take custody of Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged former aide Ramil Madriaga pending the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a March 5 letter to the House justice panel released by the House justice panel on Thursday, Diokno said that the safety of Madriaga, who has identified himself as the supposed "bagman" for the Vice President, is a paramount concern at this point.

“May I also move that the custody of Mr. Ramil Lagunoy Madriaga, who appears to be a material witness in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, be transferred to the Committee on Justice, to ensure his safety and availability to testify before the Committee at the proper time,” Diokno said.

Duterte camp wants Madriaga ‘alive and well’

Duterte’s legal counsel, Atty. Paolo Panelo Jr., backed Diokno’s appeal, stressing that they want Madriaga “alive and well.” 

“To reiterate, we want Madriaga alive and well precisely so he can testify and reveal himself to the world as a fraud. If transferring his custody to the House of Representatives ensures that, then we welcome the move,” Panelo said in a statement. 

The Vice President’s lawyer, however, expressed belief that the House justice panel should only consider Madriaga a “material witness" in the probe.  

“No amount of the expected biased questioning from the House Justice Committee, composed mostly of the Vice President's enemies, can overcome Madriaga's fabrications or salvage his inexistent credibility,” Panelo said. 

“In our view, he only qualifies as a ‘material witness’ solely to the extent that his testimony exposes the strictly political objectives of those pursuing impeachment,” he added. 

Madriaga's allegations have been included in an impeachment complaint against Duterte.

Duterte has denied having a personal relationship with Madriaga, alleging that he is working to undermine her possible plans to run for president. She has also filed a perjury complaint against him. 

Diokno also moved that subpoena duces tecum be issued to secure certain records for the impeachment proceedings “to fulfill its mandate of evaluating the evidence in order to decide if sufficient grounds for impeachment exist.

Diokno said these key documents include the following:

• The certified true copies of the Vice President’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, specifically in years  2007 to 2013, 2016 to 2025 or the years that Duterte served in public office
• The Anti-Money Laundering Council’s certification under oath on whether it has any records involving covered and or suspicious transactions linked to Duterte, including accounts in her name, accounts in the name of spouses Sara Zimmerman Duterte and Manases “Mans” Reyes Carpio, accounts in the name of Duterte and Rodrigo Roa Duterte, and other related accounts
• Records from the National Bureau of Investigation on its investigation into threats attributed to Duterte against President Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, including certified copies of documents and photographs gathered in the course of the investigation 

Diokno’s position, as stated in his letter, is shared by his fellow opposition lawmakers Leila de Lima of the Mamamayang Liberal party-list, Percival Cendaña of Akbayan party-list, and Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands.

The House justice panel has already ordered the Vice President to answer the impeachment charges against her with a Notice to Respond last March 6, and the Vice President has 10 calendar days to reply.

The impeachment complaints mainly accuse the Vice President of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, over the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds, using this budget as bribes and threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his immediate family. —with reports from Tina Panganiban-Perez and Giselle Ombay/ VAL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News