Alleged Sara bagman seeks help from NBI ,

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

December 19, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Detained former military agent Ramil Madriaga, who claims to be the bagman of Vice President Sara Duterte, has asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a forensic examination and data backup of his three cell phones.

In his two-page letter stamped as “received” by the NBI yesterday, Madriaga, through his lawyer Mark Anthony Te, said the forensic examination and data backing of his three cell phones, currently under the custody of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 21,  would be crucial in preserving the integrity of several communication exchanges that could support his allegations against the Vice President.

“For clarity, the requested forensic examination and data backup are not being sought for purposes of Mr. Madriaga’s defense in the cited criminal case. Rather, Mr. Madriaga seeks to preserve and extract communications data from said devices in a forensically sound manner to support and substantiate his aforesaid allegations, which concern a separate matter,” the letter read.

Madriaga is currently detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Annex 2 in Taguig City for a pending kidnapping case.

In his sworn affidavit submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman just last Tuesday, Madriaga alleged that Philippine offshore gaming operators and drug lords bankrolled Duterte’s campaign in May 2022.

In his letter to the NBI, Madriaga said the acquisition and extraction of data from his phones must be done by forensic experts to ensure careful documentation and proper handling as well as “issuance of an appropriate technical report describing the procedures used and the results obtained, such that the extracted data may be verified and, if necessary, presented before the proper authorities.”

Madriaga said he is willing to execute a waiver and affidavit of consent as may be required by the NBI should it grant his request.

Meanwhile, in a press conference yesterday, Madriaga’s other lawyer, Raymund Palad, said Duterte visited Madriaga twice this year in his detention facility in Taguig supposedly to prevent the latter from testifying against her.

“The first visit on Oct. 18, there was someone who monitored it. The next day, Oct. 19 in the evening, VP Sara visited again, that was why someone texted me to come there,” Palad said.

Asked for any closed-circuit television footage or visitors’ log that could possibly back his client’s allegation, Palad said the media can inquire with the BJMP.

Palad said that during one of the visits, Duterte allegedly told Madriaga that she can talk to a judge to settle his kidnapping case as long as the latter would no longer testify against her.

Duterte had earlier denied Madriaga’s allegations.

Roque linked to land-grabbing

The United Pilipino Against Crime and Corruption civil society group yesterday claimed that former presidential spokesman Harry Roque and his wife, Mylah, were involved in an alleged land-grabbing scheme in Mariveles, Bataan.

“After speaking with the farmers in Mariveles, we obtained documents from the Bataan Registry of Deeds showing that their land titles were suddenly canceled and transferred to companies owned by Harry Roque and Mylah Roque, without the farmers signing any documents,” group founder Pyra Lucas said during a press briefing in Quezon City.

Palad said the alleged land dispute was also mentioned in Madriaga’s notarized affidavit dated Nov. 29, which contained claims involving Roque and alleged POGO-related activities.

He also alleged that Madriaga witnessed armed “Chinese-looking” security personnel at the disputed property, which Palad said raised security concerns over the planned development that allegedly involved about 421 hectares of land affecting around 75 farming families.