Imee Marcos: ‘Isinuko natin si Duterte’

Presidential sister and Senate panel chairperson Imee Marcos on Thursday said that the Philippine government surrendered former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of crimes against humanity.

During the Senate foreign relations committee hearing into the arrest of Duterte, Marcos presented a series of video clips from when the warrant of arrest was served to the former president when he returned to the Philippines from Hong Kong, to when he was flown to the Netherlands. 

“Ito ang napanood ng buong bansa, at ang tanging tanong, bakit natin isinuko ang isang kapwang Pilipino? Kung ang iyong kapatid ay inuusig, ipapasa mo ba sa kamay ng iba? Kung ang iyong ama o ‘di kaya ang iyong lolo pa, matanda na, may sakit, kinakakaldkad palabas ng inyong tahanan, manonood ka ba na parang wala lang?” the senator asked.  

(This is what the entire country saw, and the question is, why did we surrender a fellow Filipino? If your brother was being persecuted, would you hand him over to someone else? If your father or your grandfather who is old and sick was being dragged out of your home, would you just watch as if nothing happened?)

“Ganito ang nangyari ngayon. Isinuko natin si Rodrigo Roa Duterte sa dayuhan na para bang wala siyang sariling bayan, na para bang hindi na nating kayang humusga sa sarili nating tahanan,” she added. 

(This is what happened now. We surrendered Rodrigo Roa Duterte to foreigners as if he has no country, as if we could no longer judge him in our own home.) 

Marcos said that Duterte was taken by “outsiders” who claimed the right to judge him, questioning when the Philippines became a “province” of The Hague. 

“If they can march into our house and take one of our own, what stops them from doing it again and again to you, to me, to any of us?... This bigger than Duterte, this is about our dignity as Filipinos,” the senator said. 

If it’s proven that there are wrongdoings in Duterte’s arrest, Imee Marcos said that they will put up safeguards so it will not happen again.

“Ang hustisyang ipinapataw ng dayuhan ay hindi hustisya. Ito ay pang-aalipin. Ito ay pagkontrol. At mga kababayan ko, hindi tayo alipin, tayo ay Pilipino,” she said.

(The justice imposed by foreigners is not justice. This is slavery. This is control. And my countrymen, we are not slaves, we are Filipinos.)

Call to PNP

Meanwhile, Senator Bong Go, a known ally of Duterte, urged Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo to tell the truth regarding Duterte’s arrest.

“Your duty is to be loyal to our flag and to our country. Minahal namin kayo ni dating Pangulong Duterte, sana kaunting respeto lamang po,” Go said.

Fajardo, who is also present in the same hearing along with PNP Police General Rommel Marbil and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Police General Major General Nicolas Torre III, has yet to respond to Go’s call.

Go earlier said that while he appreciates Imee Marcos’ initiative to conduct a probe into the arrest of Duterte over his alleged crimes against humanity, it might be “too late” for that. —AOL, GMA Integrated News