Jamaine Punzalan

Vice President Sara Duterte announces her intention to run for the presidency in the 2028 national elections during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

VP SARA DUTERTE

Jervis Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177258694910220260218-vp-sara-duterte-presidency-MT4.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte announces her intention to run for the presidency in the 2028 national elections during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE)</strong> — Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday filed a perjury complaint against Ramil Madriaga, an individual who claimed to be her bagman.</p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Duterte previously said she had never given Madriaga &quot;instructions of any kind&quot; and added that she had “never visited him in prison, nor have I spoken to him about anything at any time.” </p><p>The Vice President said the photographs he submitted were “unrelated images taken during public events where I was present.” </p><p>“Mr. Madriaga has offered no proof — no documents, no corroboration — only accusations. Bare allegations, no matter how loudly repeated,<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/22/sara-duterte-says-madriaga-graft-claims-amount-to-nothing-more-than-noise-0916"> amount to nothing more than noise</a>,” she continued. </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02jiHQW56jNCoSFmJu8KBqzmFpwD93rAQKE5TkKvC1nJ6v7xwxTtmKxphWWVhJXqnzl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="411" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><p>In his notarized affidavit referred to the Office of the Ombudsman in December 2025, Madriaga alleged he executed big-time cash deliveries on Duterte’s behalf, adding a national campaign for Duterte was funded by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) and drug lords.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/23/sara-duterte-visited-teves-not-alleged-bagman-madriaga-remulla-1416">Sara Duterte visited Teves, not alleged bagman Madriaga – Remulla</a></div><p>But Duterte said Madriaga, who is “currently facing serious criminal charges and has a prior criminal record, appears to be acting out of desperation to secure his release from detention.”</p><p>“He is now disseminating false statements to government authorities as part of a concerted effort to obstruct and undermine my<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/18/sara-duterte-to-run-for-president-1102"> possible candidacy for President,” </a>she said. </p><p>Madriaga had identified himself as an intelligence and security officer under then-President Rodrigo Duterte and said he formed Inday Sara Duterte is my President (ISIP) where he served as a national convenor in 2020.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;TURNING POINT&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Duterte&#x27;s legal counsel Paolo Panelo said she only filed the case now as she previously focused her energy in &quot;serving the Filipino people.&quot;</p><p>&quot;For the longest time, the Vice President has been content of just denying the allegations against her and wait for the proper forum to answer the charges,&quot; Panelo told media after the filing.</p><p>&quot;Today marks a turning point. She has also accepted her duty to hold accountable those who spread lies and misinformation to curb the will of the electorate and to propagate themselves in power,&quot; he added.</p><p>Panelo was also asked if the Vice President was bothered that Madriaga&#x27;s affidavit was used in the impeachment complaints.</p><p>&quot;This is a perfect opportunity to show to the people how politically motivated this impeachment complaints are because these are based on a worthless testimony from an untrustworthy source,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;It shows the complainants and those pushing for impeachment did not fact check on Madriaga and his claims,&quot; Panelo added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>MADRIAGA CAMP RESPONDS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In a statement, Madriaga&#x27;s legal team acknowledged the filing of the perjury case, and stood by the veracity of Madriaga&#x27;s statements.</p><p>&quot;Mr. Madriaga stands firmly by the truthfulness of his affidavit and is fully prepared to defend it before the proper authorities,&quot; the statement read.</p><p>&quot;It bears emphasizing that perjury requires strict legal elements: the statement must be demonstrably false, material to the issue, and made with deliberate intent to deceive. These are not matters of speculation or public rhetoric; they must be proven with clear evidence,&quot; it added.</p><p>Madriaga is currently detained due to cases of kidnapping.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe width="1023" height="575" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tyhtVhRhW0U" title="Madriaga ready to testify in impeachment proceedings vs VP Sara | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <iframe width="1023" height="575" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bZvC39iLBX4" title="Sara Duterte itinangging kilala si Ramil Madriaga | TV Patrol" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday filed a perjury complaint against Ramil Madriaga, an individual who claimed to be her bagman.</p>

Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday filed a perjury complaint against Ramil Madriaga, an individual who claimed to be her bagman.

Sara Duterte files perjury complaint vs Madriaga

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Sara Duterte files perjury complaint vs Madriaga

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 04, 2026 09:51 AM PHT

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Updated March 04, 2026 12:31 PM PHT

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Sara Duterte

perjury

Madriaga

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