CABINET officials will no longer attend the Senate hearings related to the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Imee Marcos said Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which leads the ongoing probe into Duterte’s arrest, said she was informed about the matter through a letter from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin dated March 31.
In his letter, Bersamin said the participation of concerned Cabinet officials in future hearings related to the topic may no longer be necessary since they already “dutifully attended the same, sincerely answered all the questions to the best of their knowledge and candidly provided all information elicited by the Senate committee members.”
“We reiterate our position on the extent of executive privilege in these proceedings, which we detailed in our letter of 20 March 2025. We believe that all matters not covered by executive privilege have already been extensively discussed,” Bersamin said.
“Accordingly, further discussions on the matters in the agenda of the hearing may constitute violation of the sub judice rule, which could unduly influence the ongoing proceedings. In light of these considerations, we must respectfully decline the invitation to attend the hearing. Nevertheless, we remain available to extend our full cooperation through other appropriate channels, should there be any further clarifications required within the bounds of the law,” he added.
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro earlier assured that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will not stand in the way of the Senate to look into the matter.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations launched on March 20 its investigation on the arrest of Duterte, based on the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
Among the Cabinet officials who attended the proceedings were Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Interior and Local Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.
Also present were Philippine National Police Chief General Rommel Marbil, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Director Major General Nicholas Torre, and Philippine Center on Transnational Crime Executive Director Anthony Alcantara.
A week later, the committee released its preliminary report on the probe, noting the irregularities in Duterte’s arrest. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)