Honeylet on Imee probe: Just pa-ekek

MANILA, Philippines — After three hearings, the Senate inquiry on the arrest and turnover of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) has failed to impress his partner, Honeylet Avanceña.

“Pa-ekek na lang yon,” Avanceña said outside the ICC prison where Duterte is detained in The Hague, when asked about what she thought of the probe being conducted by the Senate committee on foreign relations.

Ekek in Filipino slang can mean gimmickry or empty talk.

Asked about her thoughts on committee chair Sen. Imee Marcos, Avanceña said, “Hindi ako naniniwala doon (I don’t believe in her) … Tanong siya na ‘ano ba talaga nangyari’? Hindi ba niya nakita ang nangyari? (She asks what happened. Didn’t she see what happened?)”

Marcos, elder sister of President Marcos, sees herself as a friend of the Dutertes, particularly Vice President Sara Duterte. But there are questions on whether the Vice President shares the same view.

After the first hearing of the Senate panel, the Vice President was asked if she would endorse the reelection bid of Senator Marcos, who is outside the so-called Magic 12 winners’ circle in surveys on the senatorial race.

The Vice President replied that she was still thinking about it. There has been no other statement from her on a possible endorsement since then.

Senator Marcos has formally withdrawn from the administration coalition’s Senate slate. This came after her brother stopped mentioning her in campaign sorties, fueling speculation that she had been junked from the slate.

Yesterday, Senate President Francis Escudero urged Marcos not to use the chamber as a platform for personal political objectives, following her order to detain a resource person during the investigation into the arrest of former president Duterte.

Escudero intervened and ordered the release from Senate detention of special envoy on transnational crime Markus Lacanilao, who drew the ire of Marcos and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa for allegedly lying about details in the arrest of Duterte and turnover to the ICC.

“I urge Senator Marcos to refrain from using the Senate as a platform for her own personal political objectives and to instead use her name, title and influence as a bridge toward unity, not a wedge for division. Our people and our country expect and deserve no less,” Escudero added, lamenting that Marcos’ acts seemed to divide the Senate itself.

Marcos and Dela Rosa are seeking reelection in the May 2025 senatorial race. 

Rules of Senate

Escudero said, “All members of the Senate are fully aware that under the Rules of the Senate, the power of a committee chairperson to order the arrest or detention of any resource person cited in contempt is subject to the approval of the Senate President.”

“This safeguard exists to ensure that the powers of the Senate are exercised prudently with due regard for the rights of all and not wielded for personal or political ends,” Escudero said. “For reasons unknown, Sen. Imee Marcos appears to have disregarded this longstanding rule or conveniently forgotten that the approval of the Senate President is not automatic nor ministerial, simply because she desires it.”

The Senate President pointed out, “For the record, I did not refuse to sign the contempt order of Ambassador Markus Lacanilao. Senator Marcos released her statement and flaunted to the media her signed arrest and detention order even before I could see, much less receive, a copy of it.”

He, however, pointed out that “Lacanilao was ordered detained without the requisite approval and due process. No less than Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo has succinctly pointed out in his concurring opinion in the Ong case that witnesses accused by Congress of ‘giving false or evasive testimony’ must be accorded stricter due process requirements, none of which was apparently accorded to Ambassador Lacanilao before he was ordered detained.”

“After several hours of Ambassador Lacanilao’s unauthorized detention, I directed his release, both as a matter of regularity and out of humanitarian consideration, as his grandfather is to be laid to rest today,” Escudero added.

Thursday’s hearing of the Senate committee on foreign affairs was the third; the first was March 20, followed by April 3, which was skipped by executive officials who invoked “executive privilege.”

But Marcos threatened to issue subpoenas to the officials who snubbed her hearing.

However, upon the intervention of Escudero, some of the officials from the Executive branch attended the April 10 public hearing of Marcos, also attended by Dela Rosa, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Robinhood Padilla.

During the proceedings, Marcos and Dela Rosa cited in contempt Lacanilao and ordered him detained at the Senate premises. Hours later, Escudero ordered his release.

“In order to comply with the requisites of due process, I am issuing a ‘show cause order’ today for Ambassador Lacanilao to explain within five days why he should not be cited in contempt as requested by Sen. Imee Marcos. I shall decide on whether or not to sign his arrest/detention only thereafter,” Escudero said.

“I will not allow the Senate nor the Office of the Senate President to be used to further petty partisan interests, especially by those actively seeking reelection in the coming May midterm polls. The Senate is an institution of reason and rule; it is not a tool to be leveraged for propaganda or self-promotion,” he said. — Cecille Suerte Felipe, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Michael Punongbayan