Malacañang Says Gov’t Only Enforce Laws amid Betrayal Claims

MALACAÑANG – The Palace asserted that President Bongbong Marcos did not commit betrayal on the arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

The Filipinos have different reactions over the arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. The International Criminal Court or ICC has reportedly issued an arrest warrant against Duterte over the allegations of human rights violations.

The ICC investigated the war on drugs of the Duterte administration after thousands of deaths are linked to the said controversial campaign. The former Philippine President was arrested by the authorities of the Philippine National Police (PNP) upon his arrival from Hong Kong.

The arrest of Duterte earned Pres. Bongbong Marcos criticisms that he allegedly betrayed the sovereignty of the Philippines when he surrendered a Filipino to foreign entities. There are also claims that the Chief Executive has the power to stop the arrest if he wanted.

Pres. Bongbong Marcos spoke to the Filipinos after former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s plane left for Dubai on Monday. He stressed that the arrest followed a legal process and the move is in line with the country’s commitment to the Interpol and not because the order came from the International Criminal Court.

Recently, Malacañang defended Pres. Bongbong Marcos from “betrayal” criticisms. Based on a report on GMA News, the Palace stressed that the President is only enforcing the laws and it will be harder if the laws will be betrayed.

“Kung iisipin po natin, wala pong ginawang betrayal ang Pangulo kanino man po dahil po tinutupad lamang ang sarili nating batas. So mas mahirap po siguro magkaroon ng betrayal ang administrasyon sa sarili nating batas,” Malacañang Press Officer Claire Castro said.

Based on the report, Malacañang stressed that the government’s move to cooperate with the Interpol did not betray anyone. The Supreme Court has previously blocked the petition filed by Sen. Bato dela Rosa seeking for an immediate Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to prevent the government from further cooperating with the ICC.

“So wala pong betrayal kung kanino man po kung ito man po nagpapatupad ng pag-cooperate sa Interpol,” Castro said.

Sen. Bato dela Rosa tagged the arrest for former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte as “betrayal to the max” by Pres. Bongbong Marcos. According to him, he will seek the protection that the Senate can provide in case the ICC issues an arrest warrant against him and the Marcos government will turn him over to the foreign entities.