DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 15 April) — Vice President Sara Duterte said she never requested special consideration for her grades while a student at San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) College of Law, contradicting claims made by Ramil Madriaga, a key witness in the impeachment complaints against her.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Duterte refuted Madriaga’s statement that she needed help from her professor to obtain her law degree, but did not respond to all other allegations against her during the resumption of the hearing proper of the Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
“Of all the lies thrown during the Committee on Justice ‘mini trial’ on April 14, the one I personally take issue with is the claim, made by a bar flunker and kidnapping suspect, that I needed someone to help me get through law school,” she said.
In Madriaga’s 24-page supplemental affidavit, Madriaga alleged that Atty. Ryan Rey Quilala, former associate dean of the SSC-R College of Law and assistant special prosecutor at the Office of the Ombudsman, told him Duterte was not “particularly good in school, was often struggling with her academics, and habitually rude and violent to other students.”
“Atty. Ryan (Quilala) used his influence in SSC-Law to ensure that Sara received passing grades despite her poor academic performance,” he said.
Madriaga claimed that he grew close to Quilala after he and other SSC‑R College of Law alumni, including Quilala’s wife, helped establish a support group for Duterte’s supposed 2022 presidential run.
The group was later registered as the non‑profit Initiative for Social Justice, Innovation and Progress or ISIP Pilipinas, Inc., but supporters referred to it as “Inday Sara is My President.”
But Duterte maintained that she completed her law degree on her own merits.
“I completed my studies on my own terms. I placed a higher premium on living a well-rounded life rather than pursuing academic excellence. I never asked any professor for special accommodation for my grades because the bare minimum was easy enough to meet,” she said.
She added that she had never been the subject of any complaint for rudeness or violence against other students.
“I graduated in May 2005 and took the Bar Exam in September of the same year—something that had not been done before at SSC-R College of Law until my time. The exam that year was relatively difficult. I passed the Bar on my first attempt with a GWA of 80, five points above the minimum,” she said.
She said that “Madriaga and his cohorts in the House of Representatives do not come close to my capacity to achieve results with very little effort because they cannot even weave a believable lie, much less follow the rule of law.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, Madriaga also alleged that the controversial ₱125 million confidential funds in 2022 that was reportedly spent in 11 days was wrong as he “disposed the money in less than 24 hours.”
He stated that the Vice President personally called him on the morning of December 20, 2022, regarding deliveries of large sums of money.
He testified that Duterte instructed him to deliver four large bags containing approximately ₱30 million to ₱35 million each to various individuals. The cash deliveries, Madriaga said, occurred just months after Duterte assumed her post as Vice President, while she was still serving as Secretary of Education.
In a statement on Facebook, Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Representative Leila M. De Lima said that allegations of misuse of public funds cannot be brushed aside, particularly when the country is facing a crisis.
“This is the people’s money we’re talking about. Hindi po ito maliit na bagay. Hindi ito simpleng technical or accounting issue (This is not a small matter. It is not a mere technical or accounting issue),” she said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
