MANILA — The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte said it is not concerned over the expected testimony of Ramil Madriaga, a confessed bagman of the Vice President, in the impeachment proceedings before the House of Representatives.

Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., Duterte’s legal counsel, said they are confident in discrediting Madriaga’s statements, which they claimed would later be proven false in the proper forum.

“As counsel for VP Sara in the specific perjury complaint versus Madriaga, we don’t mind because we know that whatever he says are lies. And then in the proper forum, which is looking like the Senate, we can definitively prove that he’s a fraud. So we don’t have concerns that he’s testifying,” Panelo said.

He added that the only concern of their camp is the possibility that the public may believe Madriaga’s testimony.

“The only concern really is that baka may maniwala because I’m sure it’s going to be amplified. Puro kalaban ni VP Sara yung nasa House Justice Committee,” he said.

(The only concern we have is that some people might believe it, especially since I’m sure it’s going to be amplified. Everyone in the House Justice Committee is against VP Sara.)

Panelo also said they would not block Madriaga from taking the stand, describing him as the “weakest link” in the case.

The lawyer said Duterte’s affidavit and supporting evidence have already been submitted to the House committee.

“And yet when they (House) talk about Ramil Madriaga, they talk about him like he’s the smoking gun, he’s the missing link to all of this, when really we think he’s the weakest link. As counsel for the perjury case, we’re not going to stop them from self-destructing their case by inviting Madriaga to testify,” he said.

“That will only expose this entire process (impeachment) as a political process that has nothing to do with evidence and accountability,” he added.

The Manila Regional Trial Court earlier allowed Madriaga to attend the House Committee on Justice hearing scheduled on April 14, following a request from House officials.

The court order stated that Madriaga, a person deprived of liberty (PDL), would be allowed to appear before lawmakers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. under proper escort.

Duterte earlier filed a perjury complaint against Madriaga before the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office, accusing him of misrepresentation and claiming he was only posing as a campaign supporter.

Panelo clarified that the perjury case was not intended to prevent Madriaga from testifying.

“’Di naman makakapagpigil ang perjury complaint sa isang testigo na mag-testify sa impeachment. So the objective was to make him accountable,” he said.

(A perjury complaint cannot prevent a witness from testifying in an impeachment case. So the objective was to hold him accountable.)

He also dismissed concerns over Madriaga’s safety, saying the Duterte camp had nothing to do with any threats against him.

“We have nothing to do with those safety threats. And considering na we (that) feel that he’s the weakest link, in a way, you could say that he’s our star witness. So we don’t want anything bad to happen to him,” Panelo said.

“We want him to testify. We want him to trip on himself, on his lies for the world to see. So wala. It doesn’t make sense for us to want him to be hurt or to prevent him from testifying,” he added.

Panelo further suggested that if anything happens to Madriaga, it could be linked to his handlers.

“Kasi (Because) we feel that if he testifies, he’s going to reveal himself as a fraud, and eventually he might start pointing fingers kung sino ba yung nagtulak sa kanyang mag-testify (who ordered him to testify),” he said.

He also floated claims that Madriaga’s allegations may have been influenced by political opponents, including former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who had previously linked the Vice President to alleged irregularities based partly on Madriaga’s statements.