A detained former aide who once worked closely with Sara Duterte when she was Davao City mayor has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to examine whether the Vice President may have committed legal violations, following sworn claims that he transported large sums of money on her instructions.
Ramil Madriaga, through the Palad Lauron Palad & Te Law Firm, submitted a notarized affidavit and a formal request addressed to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday, urging the agency to initiate an investigation. His lawyers said the filing was intended to place the allegations squarely within the Ombudsman’s mandate. “We submit this referral in deference to the Ombudsman’s authority to investigate and act upon acts or omissions of public officers and employees,” the firm stated in its letter.
The Ombudsman did not immediately respond to media inquiries. The Office of the Vice President, when asked for comment, referred reporters to an earlier statement released over the weekend, which addressed separate plunder and criminal complaints filed by civil society groups over the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds. In that statement, Duterte described the accusations as “another fishing expedition” aimed at diverting attention from a public works corruption controversy.
Madriaga is currently detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City while facing trial before a Manila Regional Trial Court over a kidnapping case involving the abduction of two Chinese nationals in 2022.
In his affidavit, notarized by lawyer Cynthia Viñas-Pantonal, Madriaga said his involvement with Duterte began in 2018, when he was recruited for intelligence-related work while she was still mayor of Davao City. He claimed he was introduced to her by her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and later served in roles connected to the National Security Council and the Presidential Security Group during the Duterte administration.
He also alleged that he helped organize the movement Inday Sara Duterte Is My President (Isip) in 2020, together with Duterte’s former classmates from San Sebastian College of Law, as part of preparations for the 2022 elections. According to Madriaga, the group’s activities were financed by Philippine offshore gaming operators and individuals involved in illegal drugs.
After Duterte won the vice presidency in May 2022, Madriaga said he was assigned to help establish the Vice President Security and Protection Group. From July 2022 until April 2023, he claimed to have worked alongside then VPSPG head Col. Raymund Dante Lachica and Col. Dennis Nolasco, who was then commandant of the PSG Training School. Their duties, he said, included securing the Vice President, transmitting confidential information, and moving large amounts of cash.
Madriaga recounted multiple alleged cash deliveries during this period. In December 2022, he claimed to have brought a duffel bag filled with money to a representative of a mayor in Laguna province, and another to a comedy bar in Quezon City frequented by San Sebastian College of Law alumni. He also said he left a bag of cash inside a vehicle parked within the Ombudsman compound in Quezon City, placing the car key on top of the left front tire. Each bag, he claimed, contained between P33 million and P35 million.
Around the same time, Madriaga said he was instructed by Nolasco to drive a Toyota Vios carrying about P80 million to a mall parking area in Mandaluyong City and leave it there. He claimed he later saw the same vehicle being used by the wife of an Ombudsman prosecutor.
He further alleged that in January 2022, he twice delivered cash of unspecified amounts by car to a Santiago family residing in a gated subdivision in Novaliches, Quezon City, following instructions he attributed to Duterte.
Beyond the cash transactions, Madriaga claimed that Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, directed him to assist in facilitating the release of magnetic lifters allegedly containing methamphetamine hydrochloride, or “shabu,” at the Bureau of Customs. He did not specify the date but said the incident occurred during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency.
Raymund Palad, one of Madriaga’s lawyers, said the affidavit should prompt at least a fact-finding inquiry. He noted that investigators could subpoena Madriaga’s mobile phones, which are currently under the custody of the Manila RTC, and which he said contain material supporting the claims. “The Ombudsman has the power to hold a video conference with Madriaga, if they want to, or much better if they will speak to him personally at the BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology),” Palad said. “This is our first step forward.”
Following the disclosures, lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc urged the House “quad committee” to revive its investigation into the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President. ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co called on the panel—composed of the committees on good government, public accounts, human rights, and public order and safety—to resume hearings.
“These are not mere political accusations—these are detailed allegations under oath that connect the Office of the Vice President to criminal syndicates, illegal gambling operations, and the drug trade that has claimed thousands of Filipino lives,” they said. “The Filipino people deserve answers.”
