A key witness in the House committee on justice hearing testified Tuesday that former President Rodrigo Duterte had already been mapping out ways to force Ferdinand Marcos Jr. out of the presidency — including through assassination and a military coup — even before the 2022 elections were held.
Ramil Madriaga, reading from his supplemental affidavit before the panel, said Duterte disclosed to him in November 2021 that an arrangement had been struck with Marcos: Marcos would run for president with Sara Duterte as his running mate, but would agree to vacate the presidency by 2025 so Sara could assume the post.
“During this meeting, BBM was able to convince PRRD to have Sara as BBM’s Vice-President. However, they also agreed that by 2025, BBM will voluntarily step down to give way for a Sara presidency,” Madriaga said, quoting from his affidavit.
He said the deal was tied to a political calculation — if Marcos left office before completing four years, Sara would still be constitutionally eligible to run for president in 2028.
But Madriaga testified that Duterte did not leave that arrangement to goodwill. Shortly after Sara was sworn in as vice president, he said he witnessed the former president meeting with retired AFP generals to explore options for removing Marcos should he refuse to honor the agreement.
“After Sara took her oath as vice president, PRRD had a discussion with retired generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, where I was also present, regarding all possible scenarios for unseating BBM by 2025 in case he reneges on his promise,” Madriaga said.
Among the contingency plans discussed, Madriaga said, were using Duterte-aligned officials within the Marcos administration to surface corruption allegations as a prelude to an impeachment complaint — a scheme he described as deliberate internal sabotage.
More extreme options were also on the table. Madriaga testified that the discussions included assassination, mass resignation of government officials, civil disobedience, and an armed assault on Malacañang Palace.
“It was also considered by PRRD to arrange assassinations or armed hits of several government officials in order to cause massive civil unrest,” he said, adding that the resulting disorder would then be used to justify a military coup. Madriaga said one of his own assignments was to recruit civil groups, school organizations, fraternities, criminal groups, and syndicates toward that end.
Beyond the political maneuvering against Marcos, Madriaga offered other disclosures about the inner workings of the Duterte circle. He said the former president considered Sara his preferred political successor over his sons — referring to Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte as “crazy” and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte as “gay” — and had assigned Madriaga to build profiles on individuals in Sara’s orbit precisely because she was the patriarch’s favored heir.
Madriaga also addressed the controversy surrounding P125 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President in 2022, which had been reported as disbursed within 11 days. He went further, claiming he “personally disposed of the money” in under 24 hours on December 20, 2022.
Complainants have cited Madriaga’s account as direct confirmation that the confidential funds were converted for personal use rather than their stated purpose.
Vice President Sara Duterte has filed perjury complaints against Madriaga, denied his allegations, and accused him of belonging to a kidnap-for-ransom syndicate that had been planning to kill her.
