THE ARCHITECTURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE “BAGMAN” AFFIDAVIT

I. Prologue: The Festive Season of Forensic Warfare

As of December 25, 2025, the Philippines finds itself caught between the polished rhetoric of Christmas greetings and the gritty reality of a multi-front criminal investigation.

While Vice President Sara Duterte issued a message of “God’s blessings” and “resilience for the poor,” the administrative machinery of the state was busy dismantling a series of legal scripts intended to undermine her 2028 prospects.

The overarching theme of this week’s investigation is the “Structural Integrity of the Truth”—from the literal five-story basement in Forbes Park to the metaphorical cracks in the testimony of the “bagman” Ramil Madriaga.

II. The Forbes Park Vault: Zaldy Co’s Subterranean Secret

The investigation into the multi-billion peso flood control scandal has moved from the boardrooms of the DPWH to the high-rent district of Forbes Park, Makati. Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed this week that authorities are scrutinizing a mansion under construction belonging to former Ako Bicol Party-list Representative and now-fugitive Zaldy Co.

The anomaly is architectural: the residence reportedly features a five-story basement. While building permits in Forbes Park are strictly governed by the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for vertical height, Zaldy Co utilized a loophole by building downward. Secretary Remulla stated that while the permit application labels the area as “parking,” the government’s initial investigation suggests a far more sinister purpose.

“We assume it is for parking,” Remulla noted, “but it is to our knowledge that it was going to be used for the storage of money.” The logic provided by fire safety experts suggests that because “fire moves upward,” the safest place for massive amounts of physical currency is at the lowest subterranean point of a structure. The construction was halted immediately following the eruption of the flood control scandal, leaving behind what many consider a physical monument to the siphoning of the nation’s treasury.

III. The Madriaga Script: When Jail Logs k*ll the Narrative

One of the most aggressive political attacks of 2025 involved a sworn affidavit from Ramil Madriaga, a detainee facing serious kidnapping-for-ransom charges. Madriaga claimed to be a “bagman” for the Vice President, alleging he delivered illicit cash for her 2022 campaign and that the VP had visited him in his cell at the BJMP facility to provide instructions.

However, the “Reputation m*rder” script faced a catastrophic failure when official jail records were subpoenaed. Secretary Remulla clarified that while Vice President Sara Duterte did visit the BJMP facility in October, she spoke with former lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr., not Madriaga. The warden’s records, backed by the warden’s physical presence during the meeting, confirm that the VP’s interaction with Teves was limited to “casual greetings” and “kumustahan.”

The psychological fallout for Madriaga’s credibility was deepened by his lawyer’s own defense. When questioned about the lack of specific dates and times in the affidavit, the legal team claimed Madriaga “did not have a calendar” while in detantion.

This defense has been widely mocked by legal experts, who point out that every visitor to a high-profile detantion center is logged, timestamped, and recorded in a ledger. The VP has since dismissed Madriaga’s assertions as “nothing more than noise” from a man acting out of desperation to secure his release.

IV. The De Lima Irony: The Inconsistency of the Accuser

The involvement of former Senator Leila de Lima in the Madriaga case has added a layer of profound irony to the investigation. De Lima reportedly stated that Madriaga’s revelations were a “direct hit” (tumbok) on the Duterte family’s style of governance. However, political analysts and legal critics have pointed out a glaring contradiction in De Lima’s stance.

During her own seven-year detantion, De Lima frequently argued that the prisoner-witnesses testifying against her had “zero credibility.”

She claimed they were “coerced puppets” who would say anything to receive a reduced sentence or better prison conditions. Now, she is reportedly “taking Madriaga under her wing,” despite Madriaga being in the exact same legal position as the witnesses she once condemned: a convicted criminal seeking a deal with the government.

This flip-flop on the credibility of “prisoner-testimony” has led to accusations of hypocrisy, suggesting that for certain political actors, a witness is only “credible” if their testimony targets a political rival.

V. The Cabral Anomaly: Acrophobia vs. the Ravine

The de@th of former DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina “Kathy” Cabral remains the most haunting forensic puzzle of the season. Cabral was the architect of the “Parametric Formula” used to manage budget insertions. On December 19, 2025, she was found Responsive at the bottom of a 30-meter ravine on Kennon Road.

The PNP’s laboratory tests recently confirmed that Cabral was positive for a specific antidepressant dr*g, leading Secretary Remulla to lean toward a ruling of suicide or a “forward motion drop.” However, a 2018 interview with DLC Magazine has resurfaced, in which Cabral explicitly stated that her greatest phobia was heights (acrophobia).

Clinical acrophobia is a paralyzing anxiety disorder. The behavioral contradiction is stark: why would a woman who experiences panic attacks at the sight of high places choose to sit on a jagged rock at the edge of a cliff to “meditate”? The NBI’s parallel investigation is focusing on this paradox, looking for evidence of “Third-Party Presence” or “Involuntary Displacement.”

The search for Cabral’s smartphone continues, as authorities believe the device contains the definitive record of who she was conversing with in the week prior to her de@th.

VI. Restitution and the Net of the “Big Fish”

While the high-profile mysteries dominate the headlines, the actual work of recovering stolen funds has beg*n. Several District Engineers from the DPWH have reportedly beg*n returning “SOP” or kickback money to the government in exchange for entry into the Witness Protection Program (WPP). These restitution payments are providing the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) with the data needed to map the $180 billion flow of funds linked to the Waymaker Syndicate and the Discaya family.

Unlike the district engineers, Kathy Cabral was not yet slated to be a witness, which forensic analysts suggest made her a “liability” to the system. The “treatment” of the district engineers—who are being processed as state witnesses—contrasts sharply with the “treatment” of Cabral’s files, which reportedly vanished from her office shortly after her passing.

VII. Conclusion: The Standoff of 2026

As the Philippines enters the final six days of 2025, the nation is witnessing a “Battle of the Scripts.” The government is aggressively pursuing the assets of the deceased and the fugitives, using the “Forbes Park Vault” and the “Cabral Files” as leverage.

At the same time, the opposition is attempting to manufacture a “Bagman” narrative that is currently being crushed by the weight of BJMP logbooks.

The truth of the DPWH scandal and the de@th of Kathy Cabral may never be found in a single press release. It is being pieced together through dashcam footage, laboratory tests, and the subterranean blueprints of the powerful.

As Vice President Sara Duterte remains the frontrunner for 2028, and as the impeachment efforts loom in January, the Filipino people are left to wonder: in a country where even the “Angel” of Infanta can become a millionaire, who is truly telling the truth, and who is just following a script? The “Long Arm of the Law” is reaching out, but it remains to be seen if it will grasp a hand filled with stolen cash or a hand filled with manufactured affidavits.