NATIONAL Security Adviser Eduardo Año on Thursday, March 20, 2025, denied involvement in the planning of the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte (FPRRD) on the basis of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
During his appearance at the Senate investigation on the arrest of FPRRD, Año said it was also painful for him to see FPRRD getting arrested, maintaining that his role during the event was limited to “assess that the situation does not escalate into a national security concern.”
Año served as the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and later the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (SILG) during the FPRRD’s administration.
“The implementation of the ICC warrant is beyond my mandate and I have no part in it. And may I also state for the record that I am not aware of any core group, nor am I a member of such group that allegedly planned and prepared for the arrest of former President Duterte,” Año said.
“It is utterly unacceptable and unfair that my name is being dragged into an alleged grand conspiracy. I firmly deny any allegations of a grand conspiracy. In fact, the events on March 11 were spontaneous,” he added.
Earlier, in a television interview, when asked who planned the arrest of FPRRD, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said it was him, Año, defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
While he stood firm of his statement, Remulla denied that there was “planning,” saying that they only “discussed” about FPRRD’s statement made during an event in Hong Kong about the release of an arrest warrant against him by the ICC.
“The question was who planned it. I did not state in any way who planned it. The meeting was of executive privilege. It is a conversation with the President,” Remulla said.
“There was no planning. We were talking about rumors,” he added.
Remulla’s older brother, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, aided the SILG in invoking his executive privilege. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)