Team ‘Utang na Loob’ vs Team ‘Batas’? Palace dismisses Baste criticism on Duterte arrest

Malacañang on Monday, March 17, moved to belittle Davao Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s criticism of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., telling reporters that friendship should not get in the way of implementing the law. 

“Ang pagpapaaresto naman po o pagsu-surrender kay dating Pangulong Duterte sa ICC ay mayroon din pong kaugnayan na batas at mayroon po tayong sinusunod na commitment para sa Interpol,” said Undersecretary Clarissa Castro, Palace press officer, in a briefing. 

(The arrest or the surrender of former president [Rodrigo] Duterte to the [International Criminal Court] is in accordance with relevant laws, and we have commitments to [the International Criminal Police Organization] to honor.) 

Castro was asked to react to the younger Duterte’s tirades over the weekend as he cursed the President for agreeing to arrest his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, over a warrant from the ICC. Within the day of arriving in Manila fresh off a trip to Hong Kong, Duterte was sent to The Hague aboard a chartered jet to face charges of crimes against humanity over this bloody drug war. 

Duterte’s arrest and turnover to the ICC has sparked pocket protests across the country, especially in his hometown of Davao City. 

Mayor Duterte, the youngest son of the former president, hit Marcos for allowing his father to face the ICC even if it was under Duterte that the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was given a hero’s burial. This isn’t the first time that the younger Duterte has used the burial of the dictator as an argument against the President. 

Castro acknowledged Duterte’s role in giving the late dictator a hero’s burial, as she emphasized that it was made first possible by a Supreme Court decision. 

“Nagpasalamat din po siya at babasahin ko po ang mensahe, 2016 pa po ito nang magpasalamat ang dating Senador Bongbong Marcos and I quote, ‘We also would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte as his unwavering commitment to this issue sustained us these past several months. Our family will forever be thankful for this kind gesture,’” said Castro. 

(The President also thanked former president Duterte in 2016, and this was the message of then-senator Bongbong Marcos and I quote: “We also would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte as his unwavering commitment to this issue sustained us these past several months. Our family will forever be thankful for this kind gesture.”’”)

[Note: By November 2016, when the Supreme Court released its decision and Duterte allowed the dictator a hero’s burial, now-President Marcos was no longer senator as his term had expired in June 2016.]

“Pero ang pagtanaw po ng utang na loob ay hindi dapat madiskaril at hindi dapat magtraydor sa batas at sa hustisya,” added Castro. 

(But gratitude should not be an excuse to derail or betray the enforcement of the law and justice.) 

For good measure, Castro included criticism of the former president in defending her boss’ decisions.  

“Dahil ba sa sinasabing ito ni Mayor Baste Duterte na tanaw ng utang na loob, ito po ba iyong ginamit kaya ng dating Pangulong Duterte noong i-appoint niya ang isang Chinese national na Michael Yang bilang kaniyang economic adviser? Hindi po ba ito pagtataksil dahil isang Chinese national ang in-appoint bilang economic adviser? Dahil din po ito sa utang na loob? Tanong lang po iyan,” she said. 

(Is the kind of gratitude Mayor Duterte is talking about now the same kind of gratitude behind former president Duterte’s appointment of a Chinese national named Michael Yang as economic adviser? Is this not being a traitor because a Chinese national was appointed economic adviser? Was this because of gratitude, too? I’m just asking.) 

Castro’s poke at the Dutertes is backdropped by backlash against Marcos’ decision to cooperate and assist the Interpol in bringing Duterte to the ICC. Protests both small and large have been staged cross the country, with supporters calling on the government to bring Duterte home. 

That’s a call that will unlikely lead to anything, however — Duterte is now under ICC custody and need have to wait for his scheduled time in court in September 2025. – Rappler.com