Imee withdraws from admin slate, cites Duterte arrest

Sen. Imee Marcos, sister of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., has officially withdrawn from the administration’s ‘Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ senatorial slate on Wednesday.

According to her statement, the actions of the administration towards the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte have ‘disregarded the 1987 Constitution and diminished the country’s sovereignty.’

“Beyond their constant narrative that the Philippines was simply complying with its international commitments, a deliberate effort to obscure the truth only gave rise to ever greater suspicion that the Constitution may have been disregarded and our sovereignty diminished by the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” she said in her statement.

The lawmaker added that the arrest is ‘different to her ideals and principles’ and ‘cannot stand with the Alyansa’s campaign platform and shall remain independent.’

“Thus, I cannot stand on the same campaign platform as the rest of the Alyansa. As I have stated from the outset of the election period, I will continue to maintain my independence,” the presidential sister said.

Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ campaign manager said that the senatorial slate respect her decision.

“We respect Senator Imee’s decision. We wish her luck in the campaign,” he said.

The action came days after the president omitted Imee on Saturday. when he asked the attendees of the Alyansa’s Laguna sortie to support the 11 candidates.

“It's okay, after all, I already said that I would focus on investigating the illegal events that took place when former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was taken,” she said in a statement.

The lawmaker added that she will “focus on the case of the extradition of a fellow Filipino who was surrendered by our government to a foreign institution abroad.”

The senator also skipped the administration slate’s campaign sortie in Tacloban on March 14, saying she could not accept what had happened to former president Duterte.

“Pinag-aaralan ko ang mga pangyayari upang maliwanagan ang sambayanan; makabuo ng makatotohanang solusyon patungkol sa pagtangay sa dating pangulo,” Imee said in a Facebook post.

The former president was arrested on March 11 by an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged human rights violations during his drug war campaign.

“Interpol [International Criminal Police Organization] asked for help, and we obliged because we have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill. If we don’t do that, they will not – they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad,” President Marcos said on the same day of Duterte’s arrest.

The ICC launched an investigation on drug killings under Duterte from November 1, 2011, when he was still mayor of Davao City, to March 16, 2019, as possible crimes against humanity. 

According to government records, at least 6,000 drug suspects were killed in police operations during Duterte’s war on drugs while human rights groups report as high as 30,000.