MANILA, Philippines — Cabinet secretaries who were invited by a Senate panel to shed light on the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March snubbed the resumption of its inquiry on Thursday.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin in his letter to reelectionist senator Imee Marcos on March 31, informed her that the executive department would not participate further, citing executive privilege and the sub judice rule as reasons and the pending petitions with the Supreme Court questioning Duterte’s arrest last March 11.
Marcos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on Wednesday, appealed to Bersamin to reconsider his decision for transparency, saying she needed clarification on the involvement and the roles of the ICC, the International Criminal Police Organization and the various government agencies in the arrest of the former president.
The following confirmed their attendance though: Luigi Gonzaga (from the Department of Justice); RJ Bernal, chief counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Ferdino Santiago, SEC securities review counsel; Alexis Medina (from the academe); and Alex Monteagudo, former director General of National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
The following Cabinet officials were a “no show” in the inquiry: National Security Adviser Eduardo Año; Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.; Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo; Interior Secretary Juanito Remulla; Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac; Philippine National Police chief Rommel Marbil; Police Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director; Phil Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Arthur Cordura; and retired general Anthony Alcantara, Philippine Center on Transnational Crime executive director.
Marcos sought confirmation that measures were taken to “ensure that the rights of Duterte under domestic laws and relevant treaties were properly protected throughout the process.”
“Such other matters that may aid the Committee in crafting necessary legislation on the coordination between Philippine authorities and international tribunals and law enforcement organizations,” she said.
