Bato present; Marcos admin absent in Senate hearing on Duterte’s ICC
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bato Dela Rosa made his first appearance at the Senate since the arrest and surrender of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC), but was met with a nearly empty room.
The Cabinet officials of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and other pertinent officials declined to attend Sen. Imee Marcos’ hearing about Duterte’s arrest, invoking executive privilege.
Marcos had already requested Senate President Francis Escudero to subpoena two officials: Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon and an unnamed Philippine Air Force Chief Arthur Cordura.
In a press briefing before the hearing, Escudero said that the subpoenas were being checked by the Senate’s legal department to see how they would align with executive privilege.
The Senate President said that he wanted to avoid a constitutional crisis. As of writing, no subpoena has been issued yet.
Escudero also agreed with Imee that the ongoing Supreme Court case is not a basis for Bongbong’s Cabinet officials to decline attendance.
Imee and Dela Rosa attended the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality hearing on online child abuse before proceeding to the hearing on the ICC.
During Imee's Committee on Foreign Relations, allies of the former president led the hearing in the absence of Sen. Bong Go, who served as Duterte’s special assistant during his term, but made a virtual appearance.
Dela Rosa motioned to subpoena the absent Cabinet officials, saying that the Senate, as a co-equal branch of government, must be respected.
“We are here to check them. If they keep snubbing us, then we will have a constitutional crisis,” Dela Rosa said in mixed English and Filipino.
Duterte was arrested and turned over to the ICC for crimes against humanity in relation to the drug war, which saw the deaths of at least 6,000 people, with rights groups saying that the death toll is up to 30,000 — with only four known convictions.
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