Detainee Ramil Madriaga is a "star" in the making. A "star witness" in Vice President Sara Duterte's potential Senate impeachment trial, that is.

House Deputy Speaker La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V raised this scenario on Saturday, April 18 as he highlighted the alleged Duterte bagman's willingness to open up his own bank accounts.

Ortega aaya Madriaga’s move changes the weight of his role in Duterte's impeachment case because it shifts him from being a witness with allegations to a witness inviting scrutiny of his own financial trail.

“Napaka-credible ng witness na walang itinatago. The fact na kaya at willing si Mr. Madriaga na mag-tell all at mag-open all, ibig sabihin ay kaya niyang patunayan ang lahat ng kanyang sinasabi. Kusa na siyang nagpapasilip ng kanyang mga bank accounts, and this is a really good test of his credibility,” said Ortega, an endorser of one of the two active impeachment complaints against Duterte.

(Highly credible is a witness who has nothing to hide. The fact that Mr. Madriaga is able and willing to tell all and open everything means he can substantiate everything he says. He voluntarily allows his bank accounts to be examined, and this is a strong test of his credibility.)

Ortega pointed out that if the case crosses from the House to a full-blown impeachment trial in the Senate, Madriaga’s waiver could make him a central figure or a “star witness”.

“At kapag ang impeachment laban kay VP Duterte ay umabot sa Senado dahil sa mga isiniwalat ni Mr. Madriaga, siguradong star witness na siya. Madami siyang sinabi sa kanyang affidavit at supplemental affidavit na kapag napatunayang tama o credible ng kanyang bank records, instant star witness na talaga,” he noted.

(And if the impeachment case against VP Duterte reaches the Senate because of Mr. Madriaga’s revelations, he will surely be the star witness. He has stated much in his affidavit and supplemental affidavit, and if these are proven true or credible through his bank records, he will instantly become the star witness.)

Madriaga made his first appearance before the House Committee on Justice last Tuesday, April 14. While not technically a witness in a "court" sense, since the committee hearings were only for the determination of probable cause--the ex-Duterte administration intelligence officer shared a lot of potentially damning details.

It was during this hearing that he signed the waiver of his bank secrecy rights.

Madriaga alleged that he served as a "dummy" account holder during the Duterte administration, and claimed that accounts were opened in his name and used in transactions he says were not truly under his control.

“Kung ang sinasabi niya ay ginamit ang pangalan niya bilang dummy, natural lang na ang susunod na tanong ay: nasaan ang patunay nito? Doon nagiging mahalaga ang waiver, dahil puwede nang sundan hindi lang ang tao kundi pati ang daloy ng pera,” Ortega said.

(If what he says is that his name was used as a dummy, the natural next question is: where is the proof of this? That is where the waiver becomes important, because it allows the tracing not only of the person but also of the flow of money.)

The deputy speaker says that the waiver matters even more because bank secrecy has long been one of the hardest walls to breach when allegations involve hidden transactions, proxies and indirect movement of funds.

In his supplemental affidavit, Madriaga claimed he never personally opened those accounts or appeared before the banks, and said the accounts were supposedly used for transfers tied to “intelligence operations” and laundering.

He named the six separate bank accounts as scattered across Makati City, Pasig City, and Lubao, Pampanga.

Madriaga also alleged that he was made to sign checkbooks with blank amounts and payees, and that millions of pesos later passed through those accounts.

He further alleged that he was directly employed by former president Rodrigo Duterte rather than by any formal government office. He said his monthly salary ranged from P100,000 to P150,000 in cash.

Madriaga also claimed that the elder Duterte instructed him on three occasions to pick up P100 million from a bank inside a mall in Lubao, Pampanga for delivery to Malacañang, and that two Landbank manager’s checks were later issued in his name for delivery to a safehouse in Eastwood, Quezon City.