During its first public hearing on April 14, 2026, the House Committee on Justice issued a subpoena directing former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to testify and submit documents in the impeachment probe against Vice President Sara Duterte. The move came amid testimony from self-confessed bagman Ramil Madriaga detailing rapid spending of confidential funds, with the Commission on Audit affirming a P73.287 million disallowance on Office of the Vice President (OVP) expenditures.
The April 14 hearing in Manila marked the committee's initial public examination of the impeachment complaint against VP Sara Duterte, following the Supreme Court's decision not to issue a temporary restraining order.
Rep. Leila de Lima moved for a subpoena ad testificandum and duces tecum against Trillanes for the April 22, 2026, session. "I respectfully move for the issuance of a subpoena ad testificandum and duces tecum to former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, requiring him to appear at the next hearing on April 22, 2026, and produce documents relative to the alleged ill-gotten wealth and non-disclosure of assets in the SALNs of the vice president," she said.
The committee deemed Trillanes' input relevant, citing his past testimonies before the House Quad Committee and his mention in an impeachment complaint over Duterte's alleged hidden wealth.
Self-confessed bagman Ramil Madriaga, Duterte's former aide, testified and submitted a supplemental affidavit. He claimed former President Rodrigo Duterte ordered him to monitor, operate against, and sabotage Trillanes but held back from assassination due to the latter's military ties. Madriaga also revised his account on OVP confidential funds, stating he disposed of P125 million in under 24 hours in December 2022—faster than his prior report of 11 days—via cash deliveries to the Ombudsman and other sites, directed by VP Duterte and involving officials like Col. Dennis Nolasco and Col. Raymund Dante Lachica.
The Commission on Audit confirmed the finality of its P73.287 million disallowance on OVP funds, covering P69.78 million for rewards and P3.5 million for furniture and computers. Duterte's allies dismissed Madriaga as unreliable, while the Makabayan bloc bloc hailed his testimony as credible and incriminating.
