Sara Duterte camp mulls filing new complaint vs. Ramil Madriaga

A lawyer for Vice President Sara Duterte said on Thursday that he will study the possibility of recommending a new complaint against Ramil Madriaga, after the latter testified at the House justice committee's hearing on the impeachment complaints against Duterte. 

Paolo Panelo Jr., Duterte’s legal counsel for the perjury complaint filed against Madriaga, said this while denying Madriaga's claims linking the Vice President to illegal campaign funding and cash deliveries. 

“Ang susunod pong hakbang namin is pag-uusapan po namin kung kakasuhan po ba namin ng panibago itong si si Ramil Madriaga at doon pa lang po kami maghahanap ng mga testigo at I'm sure marami pong mahahanap na testigo para pasinungalingan itong mga sinasabi niya,” he said in an interview on Balitanghali.

(Our next step is to discuss whether we will file a new complaint against Ramil Madriaga and only then will we look for witnesses and I'm sure we will find many witnesses to refute what he is saying.) 

“Mukhang ‘yun po ang irerekomenda natin sa ikalawang pangulo. So antabayanan po natin kung anong sunod na hakbang namin,” he added. 

(It seems like that's what we'll recommend to the Vice President. Just wait and see what our next action will be.) 

Asked what kind of complaint might be possibly filed again against Madriaga, Panelo told GMA News Online, “It's clear that he committed perjury by falsely testifying under oath, but we will also study other possible causes of action.”

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.”

He also claimed that he was ordered by Colonel Dennis Nolasco and Colonel Raymond Lachica to deliver four duffel bags, each containing up to P35 million, to different individuals.

READ: Who is Ramil Madriaga?

Both the Vice President and Lachica denied the accusations against them. 

On March 4, Duterte filed the first perjury complaint against Madriaga before the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office, insisting that “false stories should not be used to confuse the public.” 

Nevertheless, Panelo expressed belief that anything that Madriaga says would only help the defense team. 

“In fact, bago pa man siya lumantad diyan sa House Justice Committee, tinawag ko na rin siyang star witness namin. Tinawag ko na rin siyang hulog ng langit sa amin. Tinawag ko na rin siyang Trojan Horse,” Duterte’s lawyer said. 

(In fact, even before he appeared before the House Justice Committee, I already called him our star witness. I called him a gift from heaven to us. I called him a Trojan Horse.) 

“Kaya the more he speaks talaga, the better for us. So wala pong pumipigil sa kaniyang magsalita,” he added.

(The more he speaks, the better for us. So we’re not stopping him from speaking up.) — BM, GMA News