Lawyer Salvador Paolo A. Panelo Jr., counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte, said Thursday that the vice president had no involvement in any alleged death threats against Ramil Madriaga, as he confirmed the filing of a perjury complaint against Madriaga over what he described as “fabricated” accusations.
Madriaga reportedly faced a threat to his life while detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, according to his lawyers.
Panelo said they support calls to ensure Madriaga’s safety so he can fully account for his statements.
“Vice President Sara has nothing to do with any death threats to Madriaga, and we join any calls to provide him with additional protection,” Panelo said in a statement.
He added that the camp of the vice president wants Madriaga to remain safe so he can clarify the claims he made against Duterte.
“We want him alive and in the pink of health because he’s the only one who can admit that he made up his testimony against the vice president, and identify his handlers,” Panelo said.
Panelo also challenged Madriaga to provide more details if he intends to stand by his allegations.
“If he stands firm on his testimony, we want him to come forward and add details to his overly general and obviously fabricated accusations, so we can shatter his testimony even more,” he said.
Panelo said Duterte had initially opted to simply deny the accusations and wait for the proper venue to address them.
“The vice president was previously content to just deny the malicious and unsubstantiated accusations against her, and wait for the proper forum to answer the charges if it came to that,” he said.
He added that Duterte had chosen to focus on her duties rather than respond to what he described as baseless claims.
“Exposing frauds who lack credibility is not a priority. She’d rather focus her energies on work that serves the people,” Panelo said.
However, he said the vice president decided to pursue legal action after Madriaga’s allegations were used in impeachment proceedings against her.
“But she has to draw the line when these worthless accusations are used in impeachment proceedings against her to mislead the public and subvert the will of the people,” Panelo said.
Panelo maintained that Madriaga must face legal consequences for his claims.
“Madriaga must be held accountable for his lies, and the complainants and other members of Congress relying on his testimony should be exposed for their purely political motives in pursuing impeachment against the Vice President,” he said.
