Senate detains for 2 days special envoy in Duterte arrest

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April 23, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has taken into custody the special envoy on transnational crime, who has been cited in contempt for allegedly lying about details in the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte and turnover to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Senate secretary Renato Bantug Jr. confirmed that Markus Lacanilao will be under Senate custody for two days, following the April 21 order by Senate President Francis Escudero.

“He’s OK, and based on the last medical check this morning, he remains fine. And as per our medical director, the ambassador was not complaining about anything,” Bantug said.

Sen. Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Senate committee on foreign affairs, was not happy with the two-day detention of Lacanilao.

“Ambassador Lacanilao was cited by the committee for direct contempt. Lacanilao should have been detained immediately since the rules do not even mention a need for a show-cause order. However, instead of immediate detention, Lacanilao was given 11 days before he was eventually ordered to be detained. In contrast, it took the administration only several hours to arrest and whisk Duterte out of the country,” Marcos said.

“Furthermore, to add insult to injury, Lacanilao is to be detained for only two days. While ordinary people are locked up until they purge themselves of the contempt, as sanctioned by Section 18, Resolution No. 5, Series of 2010, as amended, Lacanilao is given an ever-so-gentle slap on the wrist,” she added.

Senate spokesman Arnel Jose Bañas said the Senate President decided to place Lacanilao under the Senate’s custody after “having failed to satisfactorily explain, through a clear statement of facts, why his answers during the hearing were not evasive.”

Bantug noted he has yet to receive a report or request to visit Lacanilao, who drew the ire of Marcos and other pro-Duterte senators, including Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, for allegedly lying about details of Duterte’s arrest and turnover to the ICC.

Bañas said the order of the Senate President mentioned a period not exceeding two days.

He noted that a copy of the order was sent to the Office of the Special Envoy for Transnational Crime at 3 p.m. yesterday, after which Lacanilao’s legal counsel immediately proceeded to the Office of the Senate Secretary to confirm the order. 

“Ambassador Lacanilao voluntarily presented himself before the Senate to personally receive and comply with the order. He went through the standard procedure and was checked by the medical and dental bureau,” Bañas noted.