Imee: Cabinet officials won't attend Day 2 of Senate probe into Duterte arrest

Cabinet officials won’t be attending the second day of the Senate investigation into the March 11 arrest and eventual detention of former President Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague, Netherlands, Senator Imee Marcos said Tuesday.

The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said that she received such official communication from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.

“I received a letter last night from the ES (Executive Secretary) saying that the [officials from the] Executive [department] would not be attending the hearing on April 3," Senator Imee, sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said.

Bersamin confirmed the letter in a Viber message to GMA News Online, but he also said that a revised version would be submitted on Wednesday.

"Nakakalungkot naman kasi alam ninyo maraming tanong pa rin. Bitin pa rin kasi preliminary report lang naman ang kinaya ko,” Senator Imee said.

(It's sad because there are still a lot of questions. I could only do a preliminary report.)

“Ang dami nga nagti-text, nagtatanong (Many have been texting and asking). And there are new information. So for the answers that are confusing, that do not match, the next hearing is a chance to answer the queries of our people,'' she added.

"Sabi naman ni Presidente na hindi raw ihihinto [ng Palasyo ang imbestigasyon]. Pero ang liwa-liwanag ng sulat [ni Bersamin].''

(The President said he won’t stop the inquiry but the letter [from Bersamin] was very clear.)

The senator said Bersamin again invoked Executive Order 464 (EO 464) which provides for executive privilege, identifying the communication between the chief executive and Cabinet officials and the President’s advisers as privileged communications not for public disclosure. 

EO 464 was issued by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose administration also faced a lot of Senate inquiries over alleged irregularities.

In his letter addressed to Senate President Chiz Escudero and Senator Imee, a copy of which was shared by the latter with the media, Bersamin said officials from various government agencies had already attended the March 20 hearing and "answered all the questions to the best of their knowledge."

"Given the extensive disclosures made, we believe that further participation may no longer be necessary at this time, especially considering that the Honorable Chairperson has publicly relayed her comprehensive findings thereon," he said.

"We believe that all matters not covered by executive privilege have already been extensively discussed," he added.

Not a free pass

Senator Imee said that EO 464 is not a free pass for Cabinet officials wanting to dodge a Senate inquiry.

“They said it’s because of executive privilege and [the case being] sub judice, but we all know that the Supreme Court has prohibited that. ES Bersamin is a former chief justice, and he knows that executive privilege is not a blanket authority. You invoke that depending on the question fielded, one by one,” Senator Imee said.

“Walang pangkalahatan na executive privilege na [para sa] lahat ng topics,” she added.

(There is no executive privilege that covers all topics.)

The senator earlier said that the arrest of Duterte on March 11, on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), violated the rights of the former president.

The Palace and opposition figures, however, have both defended the arrest as an enforcement of the law.

They particularly cited Section 17 of Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law states that: ''In the interest of justice, the relevant Philippine authorities may dispense with the investigation or prosecution of a crime punishable under this Act if another court or international tribunal is already conducting the investigation or undertaking the prosecution of such crime. Instead, the authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court, if any, or to another State pursuant to the applicable extradition laws and treaties.

Duterte was flown to The Hague after his arrest and was placed in detention at the Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison on March 13 (PH time). He faced the ICC via video link the following day, where the court read to him the charges against him related to the killings under his administration's war on drugs. 

The confirmation of charges has been set for September 23, 2025. —KG/VBL, GMA Integrated News