ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House panel formally seeks 'bagman' Madriaga, lawyer's appearance in VP Duterte impeachment hearing

House panel formally seeks 'bagman' Madriaga, lawyer's appearance in VP Duterte impeachment hearing

Published Apr 7, 2026 04:30 pm

At A Glance

  • The House Committee on Justice has formally issued subpoenas to alleged Vice President Sara Duterte "bagman" Ramil Madriaga, as well as the lawyer who notarized his affidavit that contained the new allegations against the impeachment respondent.
Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro (PPAB)
Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro (PPAB)


The House Committee on Justice has formally issued subpoenas to alleged Vice President Sara Duterte "bagman" Ramil Madriaga, as well as the lawyer who notarized his affidavit that contained the new allegations against the impeachment respondent.
A subpoena ad testificandum et duces tecum was issued each to Madriaga, currently detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City; and lawyer Cynthia Viñas-Pantonal.
The justice committee, chaired by Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro, instructed the pair to appear during its next scheduled hearings on Tuesday, April 14, which was for the determination of probable cause in the two active impeachment complaints against Vice President Duterte.
House members who have been pushing for Duterte's impeachment have cited the Madriaga allegations as the fresh part of this year's impeachment complaints against the lady official, as compared to last year's effort.
“You are hereby directed to appear before the Committee on Justice on April 14, 2026, 10:00 A.M., at the 2nd Floor of the People Center, House of Representatives, and to submit the following documents,” the order issued to Madriaga read.
Madriaga was directed to present the “original copies” of an “affidavit dated November 29, 2025” as well as “any other evidence in your possession".
The subpoena detailed his alleged role in the handling of confidential funds tied to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
“You worked for the Vice President and formed the Vice-Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG). Between 2022 and 2023, you received the Office of the Vice-President’s and Department of Education’s confidential funds from VPSPG’s Col. [Raymund Dante] Lachica and delivered them to the Vice-President’s friends and acquaintances,” the subpoena stated.
In his affidavit that was leaked last year, 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.
Speaking of Madriaga’s affidavit, Viñas-Pantonal was also asked to attend next week's proceedings as the panel ramped up its evidence-gathering effort.
“You notarized the affidavit of Mr. Madriaga. Your testimony will be needed to identify and authenticate the copies of Mr. Madriaga’s affidavit attached to the impeachment complaints,” the committee stated in its subpoena to the lawyer.
The subpoenas form part of the panel’s ongoing proceedings on the verified impeachment complaints filed against Duterte, as endorsed by several House members.
BIR records
Meanwhile, the same committee has also subpoenaed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to produce tax records of Vice President Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, including nearly two decades of income tax returns, as part of the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
The panel also directed BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza to appear before lawmakers during the April 14 hearing and to bring the sought documents.
Lawmakers are seeking “tax compliance and reported income of Sara Z. Duterte, her spouse, Manases Carpio, and various business entities in which they hold interest,” as well as “original or certified true copies of the Annual Income Tax Returns of Sara Z. Duterte, her spouse, Manases Carpio, for the years 2007 to 2025".
The order also covers multiple corporations and business interests allegedly linked to the couple, including Metro City Chow Foods Corp., Gencorp Industries Inc., Carpio Lawyers, 888 Bistro, CALE88 Foods Corp., Madayaw Fisheries Corp., Mati City Ice Plant and Cold Storage Inc., Amianan Shores Inc., Geometry Security and Investigation Agency Inc., and Cabletow 88 Shipping and Marine Services Inc.
According to the panel, the records are needed “to identify and authenticate the submissions to your office, such as but not limited to the Income Tax Returns and Annual Financial Statements of Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte and her spouse, Manases Carpio, as well as the various entities in which they hold interests, as well as testify thereon".

Related Tags

impeachment Sara Duterte Gerville \"Jinky Bitrics\" Luistro Ramil Madriaga
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.