THE Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chaired by Senator Imee Marcos will recommend to the Office of the Ombudsman the filing of charges against several high-ranking government officials over the arrest and transfer of former President Rodrigo Duterte (FPRRD) to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a press conference, Marcos bared the possible criminal and administrative liabilities of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Interior and Local Government (SILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Marbil, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Major General Nicolas Torre III, and Special Envoy on Transnational Crimes Ambassador Markus Lacanilao.
She said the Justice secretary should be investigated over the possible violation of Republic Act (RA) 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for sanctioning or causing an invalid administrative arrest against Duterte, in contravention with a Supreme Court ruling, as well as for usurpation of judicial functions and grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of public service.
SILG Remulla was also found to be possible liable for arbitrary detention, violation of RA 3019 for inducing or persuading Torre and Marbil to perform an act in violation of law, rules, and regulations or an offense in connection with the official duties of the latter, and grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of public service.
Charges for arbitrary detention, violation of RA 3019 for persuading Torre to perform an act in violation of law rules, and regulations, or an offense in connection with the official duties of the latter, and grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of public service may be filed against Marbil.
Torre may be charged for the arbitrary detention of Duterte and his former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, violation of RA 7438 for not allowing Duterte to be visited by her daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, and for forcing Duterte’s lawyers to leave him, violation of RA 3019 for allowing himself to be induced or persuaded by Marbil and Remulla to perform an act in violation of law, rules, and regulations or an offense in connection with his official duties, and grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of public service.
Marcos said Lacanilao is also possibly liable for usurpation of official functions under article 177 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), false testimony in other cases and perjury in solemn affirmation under Article 183 of the RPC, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The recommendation is part of the initial findings of the panel, which is looking into the irregularities in the arrest of Duterte, who was immediately flown to the Netherlands and turned over and detained to the ICC, which is investigating the alleged crime against humanity in the country due to the implementation of his drug war from 2011 to 2019.
The two other findings were that the arrest and transport of Duterte was politically-motivated and that there was a whole-government effort to cover up the details and motives of the arrest.
“Unang-una, ang pag aresto at pagsuko kay dating Pangulong Duterte sa ICC ay klarong may motibong political, may malinaw na pattern na kung saan may malalaking kaganapang pampulitika bago ang mahahalagang pahayag at aksyon ng admin kaugnay sa ICC,” said Marcos.
(First of all, the arrest and surrender of former President Duterte to the ICC clearly have political motives, showing a clear pattern where major political events occur before important statements and actions by the administration related to the ICC.)
“Maliwanag na ang pag-aresto kay dating pangulo ay bahagi ng malawakang pagsisikap ng gobyerno na pabagsakin ang mga Duterte bago mag 2028 election pa,” she added.
(It is clear that the arrest of the former President is part of the government's broader effort to bring down the Dutertes ahead of the 2028 elections.)
The presidential sister said the administration started cooperating with the ICC after Duterte criticized the government’s effort for charter change through People’s Initiative (PI), which also aims to prevent the Dutertes’ return to power.
When the PI failed, Marcos said the administration shifted to destroying the names of the Dutertes through the launch of congressional inquiries, targeting the alleged human rights violation of the former administration, as well as the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education under Vice President Duterte, which later led to the impeachment of the second highest official of the country before the House of Representatives.
The lawmaker also cited the mid-elections final campaign action plan of the dominant Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party led by House Speaker Martin Romualdez that aims to further pin down the Dutertes by continuously attacking them.
She said action plan also provides that the necessary votes to impeach Vice President Duterte in the House of Representatives were obtained through the use of "soft" projects such as Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad), and the controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (Akap).
It was also indicated that the impeachment of Vice President Duterte should be sped up and that the necessary votes in the Senate would be obtained using “For Later Release” projects as “rewards.”
Senator Marcos said in a bid to cover up the details and motive of Duterte’s arrest, government officials’ repeatedly invoked the executive privilege during the hearing, particularly on matters on who ordered the arrest of the former President, who ordered his transport to The Hague, and how the plane that was used to transport him was procured.
“Nung unang pagdinig, tumanggi si SILG Remulla na magsalita nang tanungin siya tungkol sa panayam kay Pinky Webb kung saan sinabi niya na group effort ang pag-aresto, at ininvoke pa ang executive privilege samantalang lumabas na sa media, una tinawag na chismis ngunit ng mabisto tinulungan nalang ng kapatid at sinabing executive privilege daw,” she said.
(During the first hearing, Interior Secretary Remulla refused to comment when asked about his interview with Pinky Webb where he said the arrest was a "group effort." He even invoked executive privilege, despite the fact that the information had already been made public through the media. Initially, it was dismissed as gossip, but when it was exposed, his brother stepped in and claimed it was covered by executive privilege.)
“Isa pang malakas na sandata ng administrasyon upang pigilan ng komite ang pagsisiwalat ng katotohonan ay ang paggamit ng sub judice rule. Halimbawa, nung mahuli si General Torre, tungkol sa pagbibigay ng maling pahayag tungkol sa pagmamadaling ilipat si FPRRD sa the Hague dahil daw sa Article 125 ng RPC ngunit ng ipunto na ang 125 ay para lamang sa warrantless arrest, bigla niyang ginamit ang sub judice rule,” she added.
(Another powerful tool used by the administration to prevent the committee from revealing the truth is the use of the sub judice rule. For example, when General Torre was caught giving a false statement about the urgency of transferring former President Duterte to The Hague, citing Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, he quickly invoked the sub judice rule when it was pointed out that Article 125 only applies to warrantless arrests.)
Marcos said the order of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin preventing key government officials from taking part in the investigation is also another clear indicial of the cover-up being perpetrated by the administration.
“The cover-up did not stop at the hearings. After the arrest of FPRRD, pro-Duterte sentiments rose while the trust rating of the administration plummeted severely. The committee received information from a reliable source that the administration has launched a communication plan to divert the attention of the people from the arrest and transport of FPRRD to the issues in the West Philippine Sea and the alleged disinformation activities of China,” she said.
“Perhaps not expecting that the arrest and transport of FPRRD will politically backfire, the administration now seeks to control the backlash by first bringing to life the West Philippine Sea issue through a Senate hearing. Then, the administration will focus on Chinese involvement in those issues, followed by ‘uncovering’ alleged disinformation campaigns by China. Ultimately, the administration plans on linking the rising pro-Duterte sentiment with this alleged disinformation campaign,” Marcos added.
Marcos maintained that she is doing the investigation in order to ferret out the truth and not to destabilize the administration of her own brother.
She said she has nothing against the President but to those surrounding him, including those who are “addict,” inside the Malacañang.
“Hindi ko naman kinakampihan ang isang panig laban sa isa ang pinapanigan ko lamang ay ang soberanya ng Pilipinas na isinusuko natin,” she said.
(I’m not siding with one group over another -- what I stand for is the sovereignty of the Philippines, which we are now surrendering.)
“Hindi ko nilalabanan ang sinuman, binabasa ko lang ang lumabas sa katibayan sa hearing. Wala akong magagawa kung labas nang labas ang katotohanan. Walang plano na mag stabilize sa Pilipinas. Ang katotohanan ay dapat mangibabaw sa lahat,” Marcos added.
(I am not going against anyone; I’m simply reading what came out in the hearing. I can’t do anything if the truth keeps surfacing. There is no real plan to stabilize the Philippines. The truth must prevail above all.) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)