Rodrigo Duterte had his nemesis former senator Antonio Trillanes IV "monitored" and "sabotaged" during his presidency, but ultimately rejected the idea of having him assassinated.

Detainee Ramil Madriaga, an alleged ex-intelligence officer of the Duterte administration, made these revelations on Tuesday, April 14, during the resumption of the House Committee on Justice's impeachment hearings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Madriaga has described himself as the former "bagman" of the Vice President, thus making his affidavit of high interest to the justice panel in light of the impeachment case.

But the witness also shared details about his association with the lady official's father, whom he claimed introduced them to each other.

"I was never under the employ of the Office of the President or any government agency. Instead, I was directly emploved by PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte). I received my salary from a certain Canlas, a PNP officer previously from Davao, at the start of every month in the amount of P100,000 to P150,000 in cash," he said.

Madriaga went on to mention his special task, which involved Trillanes.

"As part of my duties, PRRD specifically instructed me to monitor, operate, and sabotage former Senator Sonny Trillanes. However, PRRD was apprehensive in ordering the assassination of Sen. Trillanes because of the latter's support and contacts in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)," he said.

Trillanes is a retired Navy lieutenant whose signature tough talk rivals that of the elder Duterte's.

The ex-senator was already critical of the ex-president before he stepped foot in Malacañang. He has since strongly backed the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings against the former Philippine leader, whose term last from 2016 to 2022.

Before the suspension of the hearing on Tuesday night, Senior Deputy Minority Leader Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima moved to invite Trillanes to the panel's April 22 hearing.

De Lima is the endorser of the Saballa et al complaint--one of the two active impeachment raps against Vice President Duterte.

“Senator Trillanes was cited in the Sabala et al. complaint in relation to the specific allegation on VP Duterte's assets, specifically in footnote number 98 about those money deposited in bank accounts under her name and those that she jointly owns with her father, her husband, or her siblings,” De Lima, herself a former senator, said in justifying her motion.

She said Trillanes’ testimony before the 19th Congress House quad-committee (quad-comm) on the bank accounts of former president Duterte and his immediate family members, including his daughter, would be relevant to establishing probable cause in the current impeachment case.

Meanwhile, Akbayan Party-list Reps. Percival Cendaña and Chel Diokno moved to require the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to attend the next hearing and submit reports, investigation findings, and related documents on any “covert and suspicious” transactions by the vice president and her husband lawyer Manases Carpio from 2006 to 2025 that banks had flagged.

If no such transactions were reported, the AMLC should certify that no record exists, Cendaña said.

Committee Chairperson Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro carried both motions.