Madriaga: Duterte had Trillanes sabotaged, but hesitated to have him killed

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April 14, 2026 | 5:59pm

MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte had former senator Antonio Trillanes monitored, but was hesitant to have the retired military man killed, self-confessed Duterte bagman Ramil Madriaga said on Tuesday, April 14.

During the House Committee on Justice’s hearing regarding Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case, Madriaga said that he worked for her father during his term, but was never officially listed as an employee of the Office of the President. 

Madriaga said he got a salary of P100,000 to P150,000 a month, which he got from a certain "Canlas", a cop from Davao.  

“As part of my duties, PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) 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,” Madriaga said. 

Trillanes is a consistent critic of the Duterte administration, going as far as helping file cases against Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court over the bloody war on drugs. 

Other tasks 

Other tasks Madriaga said he was given included profiling individuals associated with Sara Duterte, because she was Rodrigo Duterte’s favorite child. 

“PRRD wanted Sara in politics instead of Paolo Duterte (‘Polong’) and Sebastian Duterte (‘Baste’) who he characterized as ’baliw’ and ‘bading’, respectively,” Madriaga said. 

In 2021, Rodrigo Duterte also told Madriaga to purchase high-end motorcycles for Sara Duterte, which amounted to P25 million. 

Madriaga bought the following vehicles and their corresponding accessories: 

• Two 2021 model Harley-Davidson motorcycles
• Two 2021 model Ducati motorcycles
• Seven Yamaha NMAX motorcycles (for the Initiative for Social Justice, Innovation, and Progress Pilipinas)