Sara Duterte faces legal setbacks as prosecutor dismisses complaint

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte suffered a legal setback after the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed her perjury complaint against her alleged former aide Ramil Madriaga for “insufficiency of evidence.” The dismissal came a day after Quezon City prosecutors threw out a complaint filed by Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, accusing several lawmakers and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) officials of illegally disclosing bank transactions involving him and Duterte during a congressional hearing. Prosecutors said they had no jurisdiction because the respondents were public officials with Salary Grade 28 or higher and acted in their official capacities. In a 19-page decision, Taguig prosecutors said the evidence failed to show that Madriaga knowingly and willfully made materially false statements under oath, as required under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code. “Accordingly, the complaint must be dismissed for insufficiency of evidence,” they said. Duterte filed the complaint after Madriaga submitted an affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman in March alleging that he had delivered large sums of money to various people on her instructions. He claimed to have served as her “bagman” or courier for diverted confidential funds. Duterte denied knowing Madriaga or having personal or professional dealings with him. She filed another perjury complaint in August, submitting about 1,000 pages of documents that she said “thoroughly exposes Madriaga’s malicious and deliberate falsehoods.” The prosecutors, however, found the evidence insufficient to support a criminal charge. They noted, however, that the ruling does not resolve whether Madriaga’s affidavits hold evidentiary value and whether he is credible as a witness in other judicial proceedings. The back-to-back setbacks came as Duterte was set to face another legal battle. She is due to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. on Friday before Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 on three counts of grave threats over her Nov. 23, 2024, remarks about having President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then Speaker Martin Romualdez killed if she were killed. Duterte has denied the charges and posted P360,000 bail last Saturday. On Thursday, Duterte urged the Supreme Court to immediately resolve her Sept. 7 petition for a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction as she asserted that she has immunity from suit as a sitting impeachable official. Her spokesperson, lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., confirmed with the Inquirer that Duterte will attend her arraignment. National Capital Region Police Office officer in charge Brig. Gen. Christopher Abrahano assured that they will provide necessary security measures for the Vice President. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Duterte had yet to seek the withdrawal of her more than 300 security escorts despite saying last Saturday that she no longer trusted the police, the court or even her security team. “I haven’t received any,” Teodoro said when asked about a request. — With reports from Isabelle Pechay and Jason Sigales /das