FACT CHECK: Supreme Court did not order Ramil Madriaga’s detention

Claim: The Supreme Court has signed an order to detain Ramil Madriaga, Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged former “bagman.”

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video containing the claim was posted on April 15, 2026, and has since garnered over 9,200 views, 787 likes, and 64 comments as of writing. The video was uploaded by a YouTube channel called “PINAS BALITA TV,” which poses as a news outlet and has 170,000 subscribers.

The video’s title states: “Nakarma na! Madriaga wala ng takas! Himas rehas na! Matinding utos ng Korte Suprema, pirmado na!”

(He got his karma! No escape for Madriaga! Behind bars now! A strong order from the Supreme Court has been signed!)

In the video, the narrator claims the content is going viral on social media, suggesting that no matter how many times Duterte is criticized or “brought down,” the Vice President will ultimately prevail.

The facts: There is no SC directive for the detention of Madriaga. His custody is not based on any High Court ruling, but rather on a pending kidnapping-for-ransom case filed before Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 21. 

Pursuant to lower-court commitment orders, he has been detained since 2023 at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Despite his detention, Madriaga surfaced publicly in late 2025 when he executed a notarized affidavit dated November 29, 2025, submitting it to the Office of the Ombudsman by December 15, 2025. 

In the document, he alleged previous ties to Vice President Duterte and claimed involvement in activities linked to confidential funds, POGOs, and intelligence operations. These allegations were later incorporated into the House impeachment complaints filed in 2026.

Madriaga reappeared in the public eye when he was temporarily permitted to leave BJMP custody on April 14, 2026, to testify before the House justice committee during its second impeachment hearing against Duterte.

Impeachment hearing: During the in-person proceedings, Madriaga testified under oath, reiterating his 2025 affidavit under a court-approved, time-limited appearance before being returned to detention on the same day. 

He claimed that P125 million in Office of the Vice President (OVP) confidential funds for December 2022 was spent within 24 hours — not 11 days — and that he helped coordinate the transfer of cash bundles to locations that included Cabuyao, Quezon City, and near the Office of the Ombudsman. (READ: Sara Duterte’s P125M spent ‘in less than 24 hours,’ not 11 days, says bagman)

Days after the hearing, the Commission on Audit (COA) issued a notice of disallowance dated March 31, 2026 ordering the return of P375 million in OVP confidential funds for 2023. 

The order also reinforced an earlier final ruling requiring the return of P73 million in disallowed 2022 confidential expenses, with the OVP given 180 days to contest the latest decision. – Marjuice Destinado/Rappler.com

Marjuice Destinado is a senior political science student at Cebu Normal University (CNU) and an alumna of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2025.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.