Imee issues subpoena to compel Cabinet officials to attend probe on Duterte’s arrest

National

EXECUTIVE officials were a no-show in the second Senate hearing on the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday, April 2.

Failing to show up in the succeeding hearings may lead to contempt as their absences prompted committee chair Sen. Imee Marcos to call for a subpoena to compel attendance.

Skipping the hearing were Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla; Interior Sec. Jonvic Remulla, Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr.; and Foreign Affairs Sec. Enrique Manalo.

Also absent were Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Nicolas Torre III; National Security Adviser Eduardo Año; Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, and Philippine Air Force commanding general Arthur Cordura.

Interior Secretary Remulla and Año initially confirmed their attendance, but later declined, according to Senator Marcos.

The abovementioned officials did not attend the hearing pursuant to a letter from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin invoking executive privilege and the sub judice rule.

“I respect the doctrine of executive privilege, but this should not be used as a blanket shield to evade a Senate invite,” Marcos said in a Philippine Star report.

“There is a saying ‘hidden truths are unspoken lies.’ The truth that is being hidden is also a lie, and that is what is happening. By using executive privilege and sub judice to hide the truth, it is appearing to be a cover-up,” she added.

Marcos’ decision to issue a subpoena was based on a motion made by Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa warned that the “total snub” of the Senate, a “co-equal branch,” may lead to a “constitutional crisis.”

Dela Rosa lamented that the Malacañang deprived the Senate of its “checks and balances” role in government.