Senator Imee Marcos will push through with a second hearing investigating the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) despite the apparent refusal of the Executive branch for Cabinet officials to attend.
In a letter written by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin addressed to Marcos and Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero, he said that officials from various government agencies dutifully attended the hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on March 20 and answered all the questions to the best of their knowledge, and candidly provided all information elicited by the Senate panel members.
He said that given this, further participation may no longer be necessary. He also mentioned that the senator has publicly relayed her comprehensive findings as well as citing executive privilege.
The presidential sister wrote a letter dated April 1, in reply to this. According to her, none of the reasons mentioned were sufficient justification for the refusal of executive officials to attend the hearing.
"The Committee is keen to provide the executive officials an opportunity to clarify issues and questions that surfaced last hearing. There are likewise new pieces of information that the Committee has received, and in the interest of fairness and transparency, the Committee would like to give executive officials a chance to explain their side relative to these new pieces of information," she said in her letter.
Marcos also emphasized that there are Supreme Court decisions supporting the Senate's authority to conduct investigations as part of their duties, regardless of the cases currently being processed.
"The power of legislative inquiry is an essential component of legislative power. The same cannot be made subordinate to a criminal or an administrative investigation or to special civil actions pending before the Supreme Court," dagdag pa ng senador.
The senator also reminded that executive privilege cannot be used as an excuse to evade accountability of government officials to the public.
“I hope that you reconsider your decision and allow the invited Cabinet members to attend the scheduled hearing," she added.
The senator emphasized the importance of clarifying the issue to prevent misunderstandings and suspicions, as well as to avoid further divisions among the people.
Marcos earlier questioned Malacañang's supposed contradictory pronouncements regarding the attendance of government officials to her committee's high-profile investigation.
Duterte is being detained and tried by the ICC in the Netherlands for crimes against humanity in connection with his administration’s bloody war on drugs. He was arrested in Manila by the International Police (Interpol) last March 11.
The hearing tackling Duterte's arrest, which his supporters believe is illegal, is scheduled on Thursday, April 3. No list of attendees has been provided as of writing.