Solon: LTO records back up Madriaga’s vehicle shopping spree claim for Dutertes

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon highlighted on Sunday, April 19 the Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) corroboration of key details shared to the House Committee on Justice by alleged Vice President Sara Duterte “bagman” Ramil Madriaga. “All vehicles mentioned in the affidavit, as bought and in the name of Mr. Madriaga and son are in the LTO records,” said Ridon, a member of the justice committee. In particular, he said six vehicles thaf Madriaga previously owned were registered with the LTO. Madriaga, a detainee at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, read and submitted during the panel’s April 19 hearing a 24-page supplementary affidavit that detailed roughly 10 years of his interactions with the Vice President and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte. The vehicles listed with the LTO included those Madriaga that claimed were purchased with funds allegedly given to him by the elder Duterte. Meanwhile, seven of eight other vehicles currently under Madriaga’s name in the LTO records are unregistered. House members who were perceived to be allies of the Dutertes have openly questioned Madriaga’s credibility as a witness or resource person in the impeachment proceedings. In his supplemental affidavit, Madriaga claimed that the former president gave him P25 million in 2021 to purchase high-end motorcycles for then-Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s use while she was in Metro Manila. He also bought ordinary motorcycles for the operations of his group, the Inday Sara Is My President (ISIP) Pilipinas–a movement that attempted to set the stage for Duterte’s supposed 2022 presidential bid. Madriaga said he spent P4.5 million on two 2021 Harley-Davidson motorcycles from a dealership in Greenhills. These were registered under his son’s name. He also purchased two 2021 Ducati motorcycles from a dealership in Katipunan, Quezon City—one costing P3.5 million and the other P2.3 million—along with P500,000 worth of accessories. This time, the motorbikes were registered under Madriaga’s name. For ISIP Pilipinas, Madriaga said he purchased seven Yamaha NMAX motorcycles for the group’s operations, all paid in cash. The remaining balance of the P25 million, Madriaga said, was distributed to ISIP Pilipinas members. Ridon said the LTO also confirmed that Madriaga’s Toyota FJ Cruiser Madriaga was part of its records. Madriaga said the Toyota FJ Cruiser was used to allegedly pick up duffel bags of the vice president’s confidential funds and deliver them to various locations in December 2022, including the P125 million delivered to the Office of the Ombudsman parking lot, a location in San Pablo, Laguna, and a comedy bar in Quezon City.