The Commission on Audit (COA) could hold the key to unravelling the mystery that is Ramil Madriaga, and determine whether or not his remarks have any value to the dormant impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Thus, said Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, who said over the weekend that the House of Representatives can't ignore the contents of ex-Duterte administration intelligence officer Madriaga’s affidavit due to how serious they were.

At the same time, Ridon warned that wasn't an easy person to trust.

Ridon, chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, said the House may need to coordinate with the COA to verify Madriaga’s claim that he once served as a government employee or a confidential agent.

“We need to know the status of his job order, contract of service, or plantilla. So, of course, you can coordinate with the [COA] on the matter,” he noted.

However, Ridon cautioned that Madriaga’s background will necessarily complicate any inquiry from the lower chamber.

“He’s not a saint. He’s not a personality that’s easy to trust,” said the lawyer-solon.

Still, Ridon says Madriaga--currently detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Taguig City--should be given the opportunity to submit himself to congressional scrutiny if an investigation is initiated.

“That’s where the evidence will be proven if you’re just making up stories. If it’s just a story, at the end of the cross-examination, your story will be revealed,” he said.

In his leaked affidavit, Madriaga claimed that Vice President Duterte’s election campaign effort in 2022 was funded with money from Philippine Offshore and Gaming Operators (POGO) and drug dealers.

He also alleged to have acted as the Vice President's bagman and made multi-million peso cash deliveries.

Reports that groups seeking to file a new impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte want to include Madriaga’s affidavit among the grounds for the case. Ridon said the House can look into Madriaga’s allegations.

“We really don’t want to put aside what he said. But everything has to be examined carefully and in accordance with due process,” Ridon said.

The House of Representatives is awaiting the Supreme Court’s (SC) resolution on its motion for reconsideration (MR) in connection with the high court's declaration of the 19th Congress impeachment complaint against the Vice President as unconstitutional.

The one-year ban on the filing of a new impeachment rap--this time in the current 20th Congress--will be lifted on Feb. 6.

Ridon emphasized that whether a House investigation proceeds ahead of any new impeachment filing will ultimately depend on those who intend to lodge the complaint.

“But the truth is the debate for all of these months has never been about the substantive issues on confidential funds and the threats. It has always been about the process,” he said.