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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ridon: Potential impeachment witness Madriaga could finally solve 'Mary Grace Piattos' mystery

Ridon: Potential impeachment witness Madriaga could finally solve 'Mary Grace Piattos' mystery

Published Feb 8, 2026 03:40 pm

At A Glance

  • With new impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte looking imminent, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon hopes that potential witness Ramil Madriaga could finally unmask "Mary Grace Piattos" as well as other mysterious names connected to alleged confidential funds misuse.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (Facebook)
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (Facebook)


With new impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte looking imminent, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon hopes that potential witness Ramil Madriaga could finally unmask "Mary Grace Piattos" as well as other mysterious names connected to alleged confidential funds misuse.
Ridon, chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, said Madriaga’s testimony could be crucial in clarifying what exactly happened to some P612 million in confidential funds linked to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) when it was under Duterte.
“Kung may alam si Mr. Madriaga tungkol sa mga bogus na pangalan, panahon na para mailahad ito at magkaroon ng linaw, para magkaliwanagan na, lalo’t hindi ito sinasagot ni Vice President Duterte,” Ridon said on Sunday, Feb. 8.
(If Mr. Madriaga knows about the bogus names, then it’s time for him to bring this out and clarify matters, so everything is made clear, especially since Vice President Duterte has not addressed it.)
Madriaga is an alleged former intelligence officer of the previous Duterte administration. In his alleged affidavit that was leaked to the media last year, Madriaga described himself as a bagman of Vice President Duterte.
He 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 carried out multi-million peso cash deliveries for the lady official.
In a news forum on Saturday, lawyer Raymund Palad, Madriaga's counsel, said the latter was prepared to take part in the impeachment process against Duterte.
Palad said his client was willing to appear before the House of Representatives, the Senate, or the Office of the Ombudsman once formally summoned.
It was the late former police general, Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop, who first voiced his apprehension on the now infamous Mary Grace Piattos, which was listed on acknowledgment receipts as a beneficiary of the confidential funds.
Mary Grace Piattos is an amalgam of a name of a popular local cafe and a bag of potato chips. Other bogus-sounding names that also reportedly received secret funds were Mico Harina, Ralph Josh Bacon, Patty Ting, Sala Casim, Amoy Liu, Fernan Amuy, Joug De Asim, and Xiaome Ocho.
Ridon noted that Madriaga could help explain how such names--flagged during hearings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability in the previous 19th Congress--entered official liquidation documents submitted by the OVP and DepEd to the Commission on Audit (COA).
“If Mr. Madriaga knows the process, the handlers, and the real persons behind these entries, then his account can help close the gaps that continue to trouble this issue," he said.
Ridon stressed that many of these names do not have any official birth, marriage or death records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and thus, deepened doubts about the legitimacy of the listed beneficiaries.
“Public funds come with public accountability. If these names are bogus, then someone must answer for how they were created, approved and liquidated,” the lawyer-solon said.
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