The attorney representing Ramil Madriaga has challenged former Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group chief Colonel Raymund Dante Lachica to stop issuing public statements and instead defend himself before the House Committee on Justice at its next scheduled hearing on April 22.
Lawyer Raymond Palad made the dare after Lachica publicly attacked the credibility of Madriaga, who testified before the House panel on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte and identified himself as a former courier for the Office of the Vice President.
“[E]xplain under oath, not through press release, how he disbursed and used the funds for alleged confidential activities. He may want to shed light on the identities of fictional characters who allegedly received confidential funds and the nature of their confidential activities,” Palad told GMA News Online.
Palad said the committee appearance would also give Lachica the chance to directly counter findings from the Commission on Audit and the National Bureau of Investigation, and to present the verifiable evidence he says is required to substantiate any claim.
Lachica, in a statement issued Thursday, argued that Madriaga had produced at least three versions of his account — an original affidavit, a supplemental affidavit, and his live testimony — and that the contradictions between them were damaging to his reliability as a witness.
“This is no longer about allegations—this is about consistency. And the inconsistencies are glaring,” Lachica said.
He maintained that testimony without corroborating documentary evidence carries no evidentiary weight. “The developments do not validate the allegations—they raise the burden to prove them,” he said. “In the end, credibility will be decided not by repetition—but by evidence, consistency, and truth.”
Madriaga’s notarized affidavit, filed with the Ombudsman in December 2025, alleged that he was directed by Lachica and Colonel Dennis Nolasco to deliver four duffel bags carrying as much as P35 million each to various individuals. He also claimed that drug dealers and POGO operators had been funneling money into the “Inday Sara Duterte is My President (ISIP) Pilipinas” campaign.
That affidavit was among the documents the House justice panel relied on when it found two impeachment complaints against Duterte sufficient in substance.
Lachica had earlier dismissed the accusations as “completely baseless,” while Duterte denied any personal relationship with Madriaga, suggesting he was acting out of desperation to secure his release from detention.
Lachica has indicated he intends to address the allegations through what he described as the proper legal forum.
