House panel subpoenas VP Sara's self-proclaimed bagman for April 14 hearing  

MANILA, Philippines — The House justice committee has summoned Ramil Madriaga — the detained man who claims he personally delivered bags of cash on Vice President Sara Duterte's orders — to testify under oath on April 14 in her impeachment proceedings.

The subpoena issued Monday, April 6, orders Madriaga to appear at 10 a.m. on April 14 at the House of Representatives and produce his Nov. 29, 2025, affidavit along with any other evidence in his possession. 

Madriaga is being summoned based on the following purpose, according to the document: that he "worked for the Vice President and formed the Vice-Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG)," and that between 2022 and 2023, he "received the Office of the Vice President's and Department of Education's confidential funds from VPSPG's Col. Lachica and delivered them to the Vice-President's friends and acquaintances."

In his affidavit filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, Madriaga claimed he worked alongside Col. Dennis Nolasco and Col. Raymund Dante Lachica from July 2022 to April 2023 in transporting large amounts of money to various individuals on Duterte's instructions. 

Both officers' names had previously surfaced in the House investigation into P612.5 million in confidential funds allotted to the OVP and the Department of Education.  

Madriaga has also alleged that Duterte's 2022 vice presidential campaign was financed by drug dealers and operators of Philippine offshore gaming operations.  

Duterte denies all of it. She has filed a perjury complaint against Madriaga and said  she has no personal or professional relationship with him. Lachica has also denied knowing Madriaga.  

Madriaga is currently held at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on a kidnapping-for-ransom charge. The subpoena was issued on a motion by Rep. Leila de Lima, who argued his testimony is crucial to the case.  

The committee has also approved placing Madriaga under its protective custody. 

His lawyer, Atty. Raymund Palad, has said Madriaga has heard rumors of a bounty — as high as P5 million — on his life inside the jail.  

Two of the original four impeachment complaints against the vice president remain active. The committee is now determining whether probable cause exists to draft Articles of Impeachment, which would need at least one-third of House members' approval before the case moves to the Senate for trial. — Cristina Chi