Jailed witness reveals Duterte plotted to oust Philippines’ Marcos

AdvertisementThe PhilippinesThis Week in AsiaPeopleJailed witness reveals Duterte plotted to oust Philippines’ MarcosRamil Madriaga claims Duterte had considered ‘assassinations or armed hits of several government officials’ to cause unrest and stage a coup 3-MIN READ3-MIN1 ListenAlan RoblesPublished: 9:30am, 15 Apr 2026Former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte discussed removing President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr from office and even considered assassination if a supposed power-sharing deal fell apart, a jailed witness told a House impeachment hearing into Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio.Ramil Madriaga, a self-described political organiser, intelligence operative and bagman who said he had once been close to Duterte-Carpio, made the sensational allegations before the House Committee on Justice on Tuesday during its clarificatory hearings on the impeachment complaints against the vice-president. Duterte-Carpio faces four impeachment complaints accusing her of corruption, misconduct, political destabilisation and abuse of power.AdvertisementMadriaga appeared at the hearing in handcuffs, wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet and escorted by armed guards from the high-security prison where he is being held while on trial for kidnapping. The vice-president has denied knowing Madriaga, while her lawyers and political allies have tried to stop him from appearing before Congress, filing unsuccessful motions before the Supreme Court and a regional trial court. AdvertisementIn March, Duterte-Carpio herself filed a perjury complaint against him, saying he had lied about being close to her. AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x