"I delivered cash for the Vice President"

A former civilian intelligence agent has admitted to the Congress’s Justice panel that the Vice President had asked him to deliver millions of pesos several times to politicians and other officials

Screengrab from House of Representatives Livestream

Manuel Mogato | April 14, 2026

MANILA — A former civilian intelligence agent has admitted to the Congress’s Justice panel that the Vice President had asked him to deliver millions of pesos several times to politicians and other officials in several places.

Ramil Madriaga also said he had fronted for the Vice President’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to launder money through his personal bank accounts.

He told lawmakers that he is willing to open his bank accounts to prove that about 1 billion pesos passed through his China Bank accounts for the former president and for the campaign funds of Vice President Sara Duterte in 2022.

“I heard in the news that the Vice President had disbursed 125 million pesos from her confidential and intelligence funds in 11 days in December 2022,” Madriaga told lawmakers at the start of a hearing to determine whether there are probable cause to elevate the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“It was wrong, I disbursed the funds in 24 hours,” he added.

Madriaga has been detained at a police camp in Taguig City after he was charged with kidnapping and illegal detention after a land dispute with the Vice President’s political ally, Harry Roque.

He came forward when the Vice President did not lift a finger to help him. The Vice President is now denying she knew him.

But Madriaga had photos and videos establishing relations with the Vice President, who even greeted him with a video birthday message.

On December 22, Madriaga said he got a call from the Vice President asking him to go to the Department of Education central office and see the security officer, Colonel Dennis Nolasco.

Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio is the concurrent education secretary, and in December 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos gave her 125 million pesos in confidential and intelligence funds.

Congress has been investigating her for possible corruption, saying she spent 125 million pesos in just 11 days, and state auditors asked her to return 73 million pesos because she could not justify where the money went.

Madriaga said when he went to the education department with three other men, he met with Colonel Nolasco, and they waited for two government-issued vehicles carrying the Vice President’s disbursement officer and another Army colonel.

The colonel and the woman emerged from the van with four duffel bags containing 125 million pesos, which the Vice President received from Marcos.

Madriaga said he was asked to deliver the bags to a politician in Laguna, a lawyer in Quezon City, and two officials from the anti-corruption commission.

Officials from the Philippine Statistics Office, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the state auditors’ commission also testified on possible misuse of the Vice President’s 125 million pesos confidential and intelligence funds.

Lawmakers were trying to determine potential misuse of public funds, a ground for Sara’s impeachment.

During the same hearing, Madriaga got millions of pesos from the former president to purchase 11 high-end motorcycles, including two Ducati and two Harley Davidson motorcycles,

He also received 175 million pesos from a wealthy Chinese businessman who made money during the pandemic. He said the funds were for Sara’s 2022 campaign.

Lawmakers had subpoenaed the anti-money laundering council, the internal revenue chief, and the anti-corruption commission in next week’s hearing to focus on Sara’s ill-gotten wealth.