Duterte's camp supports move to transfer self-confessed bagman into House custody
The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte is supporting the move to transfer Ramil Madriaga, a self-confessed bagman of Duterte, to the custody of the House of Representatives if only that would ensure his safety.
Paolo Panelo, Duterte's legal counsel, reiterated their previous stand on Madriaga, whom they charged with perjury over allegations he made against the Vice President.
"To reiterate, we want Madriaga alive and well precisely so he can testify and reveal himself to the world as a fraud," Panelo said.
Duterte's camp then asserted that "no amount of the expected biased questioning from the House Justice Committee, composed mostly of the Vice President's enemies, can overcome Madriaga's fabrications or salvage his inexistent credibility."
"In our view, he only qualifies as a 'material witness' solely to the extent that his testimony exposes the strictly political objectives of those pursuing impeachment," Panelo added.
On March 4, Duterte filed a perjury complaint against Madriaga, one of the witnesses in her impeachment complaint. This developed after Madriaga claimed to be her former aide who had delivered large amounts of money to various individuals upon her instruction.
Her camp also washed their hands of any death threats against, saying they would rather see him "alive and in the pink of health because he's the only one who can admit that he made up his testimony against the Vice President, and identify his handlers."