Sara Duterte’s 2022 campaign received millions from POGOs, ex-aide alleges

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CASH allegedly flowed from drug lords and Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) into Vice President Sara Duterte’s 2022 campaign, according to a sworn affidavit by a former aide who says he personally handled deliveries.

Ramil Lagunoy Madriaga, a former aide, said in his affidavit that large sums of money were funneled to the Inday Sara Duterte Is My President (ISIP) movement, which he helped organize with Duterte’s former classmates at San Sebastian College of Law. At the time, Duterte was mayor of Davao City.

Madriaga’s lawyer, Raymund Palad, told Storycon on One News that his client’s revelations were partly motivated by resentment over his arrest and detention for kidnapping, a case filed by a client of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

“The funding for the ISIP Pilipinas national campaign (2021–2022), along with other parallel groups, came from POGO operators and drug dealers,” Madriaga said in his affidavit, as quoted by Philstar.

Madriaga said ISIP Pilipinas was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and served as a national support network for Duterte’s initial presidential bid, initially receiving funds from Duterte and allied organizations.

He also helped establish the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG), recommending Col. Dennis Nolasco to lead the Presidential Security Group, who later appointed Col. Raymund Dante Lachica to head the VPSPG. From July 2022 to April 2023, Madriaga said he worked directly under Nolasco and Lachica.

Part of Madriaga’s duties, according to reports, included transporting cash to various locations, including a Timog-area comedy bar allegedly owned by fellow San Sebastian alumni, and delivering a cash-filled vehicle to the Office of the Ombudsman’s parking compound.

OVP spokesman Reynold Munsayac denied the allegations, calling them “preposterous” and saying he does not know Madriaga personally, with his only interaction with ISIP limited to attorney Ryan Quilala.

Former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. confirmed Madriaga’s involvement in kidnap-for-ransom activities and his 2023 arrest, noting he was apprehended with four others while planning another kidnapping.(MyTVCebu)