Detainee Ramil Madriaga, an alleged former intelligence operative under the Duterte administration, testified that former President Rodrigo Duterte personally instructed him to monitor, operate against, and sabotage his longtime critic, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
However, Duterte ultimately ruled out assassination due to Trillanes’ strong support within the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Madriaga made the revelations on Tuesday, April 14, during the resumption of the House Committee on Justice’s impeachment hearings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The witness, who identified himself as the former “bagman” of the Vice President, said he was introduced to her by her father, the former president.
“I was never under the employ of the Office of the President or any government agency. Instead, I was directly employed by PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte). I received my salary from a certain Canlas, a PNP officer previously from Davao, at the start of every month in the amount of ₱100,000 to ₱150,000 in cash,” Madriaga told the committee.
He added that one of his specific tasks involved targeting Trillanes.
“As part of my duties, PRRD specifically instructed me to monitor, operate, and sabotage former Senator Sonny Trillanes. However, PRRD was apprehensive in ordering the assassination of Sen. Trillanes because of the latter’s support and contacts in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),” he said.
Trillanes, a retired Navy lieutenant, has long been known for his outspoken criticism of Duterte, often matching the former president’s combative rhetoric.
He has also actively supported International Criminal Court proceedings against Duterte over his administration’s bloody war on drugs from 2016 to 2022.