The same screenshot that surfaced during the House justice panel’s April 14 impeachment hearing reappeared on Monday, June 1 — this time in the hands of Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro, who used it to extend a pointed birthday message to Vice President Sara Duterte.
Castro raised the printed image during her briefing at Malacañang, drawing attention to a placard within the photo that originally bore the name of Ramil Madriaga. The handwritten card showed “Ram Madriaga” struck through and replaced with “VP Sara,” a reworking that referenced the now-contested video greeting at the center of recent testimony against the Vice President.
The original footage had been introduced at the justice committee proceedings, where Madriaga — who has described himself as a former bagman for Duterte — appeared as a witness on the impeachment complaints. In that recording, the Vice President is heard wishing him well on his birthday, a clip that lawmakers presented as it cut against Duterte’s position that she did not know the man.
Duterte’s legal camp has pushed back on any suggestion that the greeting indicates a close association. Her counsel, Atty. Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., characterized the video as nothing more than a “fansign” — the routine manner in which the official accommodated supporters requesting recorded greetings — rather than proof of familiarity between the two.
Madriaga’s broader account placed him within a group he identified as ISIP Pilipinas, a fundraising effort tied to what was meant to be Duterte’s 2022 presidential run, before he later said he came to feel betrayed by her.
The Vice President, who marked her 48th birthday on May 31, has rejected Madriaga’s statements outright, branding his account before the committee as fabricated.
