MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged former bagman Ramil Madriaga refuted findings that it took the Office of the Vice President (OVP) 11 days to spend P125 million in confidential funds in December 2022, saying he disposed of the funds within a single day.

Madriaga told the House justice committee on Tuesday, April 14, that he coordinated with Duterte’s security officers to transport bags of cash containing around P30 million to P35 million each.

“A few years later, I read from several media reports that P125 million in OVP confidential funds in 2022 were reportedly utilized in just 11 days. This is wrong because I personally disposed the money in less than 24 hours,” Madriaga said.

Where were the bags supposedly delivered?

• Bag #1: Cabuyao, Laguna, allegedly intended for an unnamed politician
• Bag #2: Nommu Basho in Quezon City; allegedly received by an individual following a signal from Reynold Munsayac
• Bags #3 and #4: Parking lot of the Office of the Ombudsman, then led by Samuel Martires

Duterte’s confidential expenditures have been a central point in the impeachment complaints against her.

Since 2022, the OVP and the Department of Education, which she once led, have been hounded by allegations of anomalous public spending.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Madriaga claimed she first met Sara in 2018 through then-president Rodrigo Duterte. Madriaga claimed he first became a counter-intelligence agent for the National Security Council after the elder Duterte won the presidency in 2016.

Madriaga alleged that he served as a financial dummy of the president and his associates during his presidency, and in 2021, Madriaga supposedly received funds from Pharmally boss Lin Weixiong to finance the election campaign of Sara.

Madriaga claimed that after Sara won the vice presidency, he was tasked to provide intelligence work for the VP Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).

He claimed that was how he worked with colonels Raymund Dante Lachica and Dennis Nolasco to handle the transport of large sums of money. – Rappler.com