Marcos disagrees with Imee’s findings on Duterte’s arrest

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April 30, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has rejected the findings of a Senate report led by his sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, which claimed that the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte was politically motivated and intended to undermine him and Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I disagree,” the President told reporters after the graduation of the Philippine National Police Academy “Sinaglawin” Class of 2025 in Silang, Cavite.

He maintained that the arrest was neither a political attack nor a breach of Philippine sovereignty.

“We followed every single necessary procedure – the very good basis on which to serve that warrant and to read him his rights… So I’m confident that in further examination, you will find that it is proper and correct,” he told reporters during a late-night press conference at Malacañang.

Marcos emphasized that the complaints against Duterte were filed in 2017, long before he assumed office.

“I don’t see how that can be political persecution on my part because... it was initiated before I even came into the picture... I was still a civilian then,” he said.

While reiterating that the Philippines did not grant any request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding Duterte’s drug war, Marcos said the country could not ignore the request of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to surrender the former president.

“We follow the law. We are a member of the community of nations. We must live up to our responsibilities to the commitments that we have made to the community of nations. And that is what happened here. Politics doesn’t enter into it,” Marcos said.

Senate report

Aside from decrying the arrest as a politically motivated act, Imee also recommended in her report an investigation into top officials allegedly involved in Duterte’s arrest and handover to The Hague, where the former president faces charges of crimes against humanity over his controversial war on drugs.

Among those the senator wants charged by the ombudsman for alleged graft, usurpation of judicial functions, arbitrary detention and grave misconduct are Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III and Philippine special envoy on transnational crime Ambassador Markus Lacanilao.

She is also pushing for separate charges against Torre for allegedly preventing Vice President Duterte from approaching the former president at Villamor Air Base, claiming this violated Duterte’s rights as an accused.

Lacanilao, meanwhile, may face charges of false testimony and usurpation of authority for allegedly misrepresenting the Philippine government during Duterte’s handover to the ICC.

Reiterating that the arrest is politically motivated, the senator further suggested that the Senate’s inquiry into China-funded troll farms was a calculated distraction from Duterte’s ICC case.

“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,” she said.

In response to Imee Marcos’ call for an ombudsman probe, Justice Secretary Remulla said he is not afraid to face charges over the arrest and turnover of the former president to the ICC.

“It’s a welcome development. We’re not afraid of that,” he said. “We did what we had to do to our best judgment. What’s good for the country is what we did.” — Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Daphne Galvez, Mark Ernest Villeza