ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Luistro shrugs off Madriaga perjury case, says House to proceed with VP Duterte impeachment

Luistro shrugs off Madriaga perjury case, says House to proceed with VP Duterte impeachment

Published Mar 6, 2026 11:14 am

At A Glance

  • The House Committee on Justice handling the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte will proceed to receive the testimony of witness Ramil Madriaga once he is presented by the complainants, even as a perjury charge has been filed against him by Duterte.
Vice President Sara Duterte (left), Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro (MANILA BULLETIN, PPAB)
Vice President Sara Duterte (left), Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro (MANILA BULLETIN, PPAB)


The House Committee on Justice handling the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte will proceed to receive the testimony of witness Ramil Madriaga once he is presented by the complainants, even as a perjury charge has been filed against him by Duterte.
Justice panel chairperson, Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro made this assurance in an online media interview where she was asked whether the perjury case filed by Duterte against the alleged "bagman" could affect the impeachment proceedings.
"Regardless of the filing of the perjury case, the justice committee will simply proceed to its proceeding and will receive the testimony of Ramil Madriaga the moment he is presented by the complainant,” Luistro said.
“Ibang forum ‘yon (That's a different forum), where the case of perjury was filed by the Vice President against Ramil Madriaga. This one is separate and distinct from the case that was filed by the Vice President,” the lawyer-solon explained.
Madriaga’s affidavit has been cited in the impeachment complaints filed this year against Duterte. Two of these complaints have been declared Wednesday, March 4 as sufficient in form and in substance, triggering the next stage where the Vice President must answer the allegations in the impeachment raps.
“We will simply proceed with the proceedings of the justice committee,” Luistro added.
Perjury is an offense of willfully telling an untruth in a court after having taken an oath or affirmation.
Madriaga--described in the impeachment complaints filed this year as the alleged “bagman” of the Vice President--is detained at a BJMP facility in connection with a separate criminal case pending before a trial court.
His sworn affidavit has been submitted as part of the impeachment complaints and is being cited as a new piece of evidence, since the 2025 impeachment raps against Duterte didn't include it.
According to complainants, the affidavit alleges that Madriaga acted as an intermediary in the supposed handling and movement of confidential and intelligence funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) when Duterte was still its secretary.
It reportedly details how certain funds were withdrawn or transferred, names individuals allegedly involved, and references documents meant to support claims that the transactions were carried out with knowledge or authority of the Vice President.
Madriaga also claimed in his affidavit that Vice President Duterte’s election campaign effort in 2022 was funded with money from Philippine Offshore and Gaming Operators (POGO) and drug dealers.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.