ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider VP Sara's camp says perjury complaint vs Madriaga won't affect impeachment trial

VP Sara's camp says perjury complaint vs Madriaga won't affect impeachment trial

Published Aug 18, 2026 04:22 pm

At A Glance

  • VP Sara Duterte filed a second perjury complaint against former House witness Ramil Madriaga.
  • Defense spokesperson Michael Poa said the complaint will not affect the impeachment proceedings.
  • Poa said the defense has already prepared its strategy should Madriaga be presented as a prosecution witness.
Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense spokesperson, Atty. Michael Poa, says the second perjury complaint filed against former House witness Ramil L. Madriaga will not affect the ongoing impeachment trial. (Manila Bulletin / file)
Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense spokesperson, Atty. Michael Poa, says the second perjury complaint filed against former House witness Ramil L. Madriaga will not affect the ongoing impeachment trial. (Manila Bulletin / file)
The second perjury complaint filed by Vice President Sara Duterte against former House witness Ramil L. Madriaga will not affect the ongoing impeachment trial, according to Duterte’s defense spokesperson, Atty. Michael Poa.
During a press conference on August 17, Poa said the defense would proceed with its planned strategy should Madriaga be presented as a witness by the prosecution.
“Itong mga perjury complaints hindi naman siya nakakapekto sa impeachment (These perjury complaints do not affect the impeachment trial),” Poa said.
Duterte filed a second complaint for perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code against Madriaga before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Taguig on Monday.
READ: 
https://mb.com.ph/2026/08/17/vp-sara-files-second-perjury-complaint-vs-madriaga
Poa explained that the second complaint stemmed from Madriaga’s supplemental affidavit, which was executed after he appeared before the House Committee on Justice.
“As I understand it, the perjury complaint is just the second complaint kasi may nauna nang (because there was already a previous) perjury laban sa ating Bise Presidente (against the Vice President), and the second perjury complaint is in relation to the supplemental affidavit,” he explained.
Poa noted that the latest complaint remains subject to evaluation by the prosecutor’s office and has yet to undergo a preliminary investigation.
“Sa atin naman, nakahain pa lang sa fiscal for evaluation, so for evaluation pa yan, for preliminary investigation pa yan (For us, it has only been filed with the prosecutor for evaluation, so it is still for evaluation and preliminary investigation),” he explained.
He said the defense would nevertheless be ready if the prosecution decides to present Madriaga during the impeachment proceedings.
“Kung i-prepresent man sila, siyempre meron na kaming plinano diyan pagdating sa cross-examination (If they present him, of course, we already have a plan for the cross-examination),” he added.
Poa’s remarks came as the Senate impeachment court continued hearing the case against Duterte, with the defense preparing to cross-examine prosecution witnesses as the evidentiary phase progresses. 

Related Tags

Sara Duterte impeachment trial Ramil Madriaga perjury complaint Michael Poa Sara Duterte perjury case Senate impeachment trial
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; } }

{{ static_articles_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.