Palace: Some Cabinet officials allowed to attend Senate probe into Duterte’s arrest

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has changed its tune, allowing select members of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration to attend Sen. Imee Marcos’ probe into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and turnover to the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin had initially written to Senate President Francis Escudero, stating that Cabinet officials would not attend the hearing, citing executive privilege.

During Imee Marcos' hearing on April 3, none of Bongbong's officials attended, leading her to accuse them of a cover-up.

She had also attempted to subpoena Air Force Chief Lt. Gen. Arthur Codura and Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon. However, Escudero said that he had the decision reviewed by the Senate’s legal department to avoid any potential constitutional issues.

The subpoena may no longer be necessary, as the Palace has since announced a list of officials permitted to attend the hearing.

Here are the government officials allowed to attend the Senate probe: 

• Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla
• Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon
• Chief State Counsel Dennis Arvin Chan
• Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo
• Philippines Center on Transnational Crime Executive Director Alcantara
• Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Rommel Francisco Marbil
• PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Chief General Nicolas Torre
• Migrant Worker Secretary Hans Cacdac
• Special Envoy on Transnational Crimes Markus Lacanilao
• Securities and Exchange Commission
  • RJ Bernal
  • Ferdinand Santiago 

Following Duterte’s controversial arrest, his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, had appealed to supporters and told them not to comment on the matter anymore. 

“Let us leave the matter to the lawyers and to the court which will decide on the case,” Sara told supporters while she was in The Hague, Netherlands. 

Despite this, Imee has pushed through with the inquiry.

Duterte’s drug war resulted in at least 6,000 deaths, though some estimates suggest the number could be as high as 30,000.

During the Senate’s first hearing on the ICC, Remulla acknowledged a failure of the justice system under the previous administration. He pointed to systemic issues in police recording and instances of mislabeled deaths.