The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte clarified Tuesday that the perjury complaint they filed against her detained accuser, Ramil Madriaga, is intended to hold him accountable for allegedly false claims, not to prevent him from testifying in impeachment proceedings.
Duterte’s lawyer, Paolo Panelo, son of former Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, emphasized that they want Madriaga to appear in court so they can directly challenge his allegations.
“What this starts, is the process to hold Madriaga accountable. That’s the primary objective of this and to signal also to the Vice President’s enemies that she won’t allow them to dictate the terms of engagement anymore,” Panelo said in a television interview.
Earlier, Duterte filed a 340-page perjury complaint with the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office. The complaint accuses Madriaga—who previously claimed to be Duterte’s alleged “bagman”—of fabricating claims that he delivered bags of cash to individuals allegedly linked to the Vice President.
Panelo stressed that the perjury complaint is not meant to block Madriaga, who is currently detained on a separate kidnapping case, from testifying in the impeachment proceedings.
“We want him to testify so that he can expose himself to the world as a fraud,” he said.
He expressed confidence that Madriaga’s allegations would crumble under scrutiny.
“We want him to testify because on cross-examination, we’re confident that we’re going to dismantle his lies,” Panelo added.
According to Panelo, the perjury complaint ensures legal consequences if Madriaga’s statements are proven false—something impeachment proceedings alone cannot provide.
“In the impeachment proceedings, if it’s proven that Madriaga is lying, there’s no consequence to him. Pero dito sa perjury case, kapag napatunayan namin na nagsisinungaling siya, kulong siya,” he said.