A roster of more than 40 names — among them two figures who once testified against Vice President Sara Duterte — has surfaced in what sources say is the defense panel’s pre-trial brief for her looming impeachment trial.
Copies of the document reached INQUIRER on Tuesday, listing the witnesses and records that Duterte’s lawyers intend to bring before the Senate Impeachment Court. Two entries stand out: former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a longtime adversary of the Duterte family, and Ramil Madriaga, a former aide. Both had served as resource persons when the House committee on justice examined the complaints against the vice president.
On page 22, the brief states the defense will call Madriaga “to disprove the allegations in the Articles of Impeachment, identify documents, and prove such other relevant matters related to the foregoing.” Of Trillanes, the same document says he is being summoned “to disprove the allegations in the Articles of Impeachment, prove that the allegations in the Articles of Impeachment are mere conclusions of law and fact, identify documents, and establish such other matters related to the foregoing.”
The brief also flags several officials, or representatives of their offices, as possible witnesses: former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Mendoza, National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag, and the Commission on Audit’s Atty. Gloria Camora from its Intelligence and Confidential Fund Audit Office.
Trillanes had appeared before the justice panel at its April 22 hearing. That session proved significant for him: the AMLC verified several of the Duterte financial transactions he had cited in a sworn affidavit. The confirmation followed a move by Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, who pulled 18 transactions at random from Trillanes’ annexes and asked the council whether they figured in its records.
Buenaventura told the committee the AMLC could not disclose the nature or location of the transfers, only whether a matching transaction of the same amount occurred on the same date — a limitation panel chair and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro accepted. The official also told lawmakers, when Deputy Speaker Ferjenel Biron asked whether suspicious dealings tied to Duterte and her relatives existed, that the council had identified both covered and suspicious transactions involving the vice president and her kin. He later explained that covered transactions are bank dealings above P500,000 that lenders routinely report, while suspicious transactions involve undetermined sums flagged because of questionable sourcing.
Trillanes has further alleged that Duterte and relatives received money from a supposed drug lord.
Madriaga, for his part, stated in a supplemental affidavit that the vice president instructed him in December 2022 to coordinate with Col. Dennis Nolasco on delivering cash to allies — drops he described at locations in San Pablo, Laguna, a Quezon City comedy bar, and the parking lot of the Office of the Ombudsman, framed as a way of “returning a favor.” He recounted four large duffle bags being unloaded, three dark and one light-colored, each holding roughly P30 million to P35 million. The cash, he said, represented the P125 million confidential fund from 2022, which he claimed to have liquidated in a single day rather than over the 11 days reported.
The trial stems from Duterte’s second impeachment on May 11, when 257 House members backed House Resolution No. 989 carrying the Articles of Impeachment. Twenty-five voted against the measure and nine abstained. The resolution folded the two underlying complaints into four grounds: the alleged misuse of P500 million in confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million under the Department of Education; the accumulation of wealth said to be out of step with her lawful income; payments allegedly made to DepEd officials to skirt procurement rules; and accusations that she arranged to have the president, the first lady, and the former House speaker assassinated, issued grave threats, and incited sedition.
