Cheyenne Suarez

Sen. Imee Marcos and Former President Rodrigo Duterte. Jonathan Cellona and Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (news)

Imee skips Bongbong Marcos-led campaign sortie, rejects Duterte arrest

ABS-CBN News

<div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1741935807729imee-duterte.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Sen. Imee Marcos and Former President Rodrigo Duterte. Jonathan Cellona and Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sen. Imee Marcos and Former President Rodrigo Duterte<em>. Jonathan Cellona and Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File </em></span></span></span></div><div><br id="isPasted"/></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — Sen. Imee Marcos on Tuesday skipped a campaign sortie led by her brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and criticized the arrest of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.</p><p>“HINDI KO MATANGGAP ANG GINAWA KAY FPRRD,” Sen. Marcos said in a social media post where she apologized for her absence at the campaign sortie for the administration’s Senate ticket in Tacloban City, Leyte, her family’s bailiwick.</p><p>“Pinag-aaralan ko ang mga pangyayari upang maliwanagan ang sambayanan, makabuo ng makatotohanang solusyon patungkol sa pagtangay sa dating pangulo,&quot; she added.</p><p>Duterte faces a charge of &quot;the crime against humanity of murder&quot;, according to the ICC, for a crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/14/duterte-case-seen-as-a-gift-for-embattled-icc-0824">Duterte case seen as a &#x27;gift&#x27; for embattled ICC</a></div><p>His arrest in Manila followed a meltdown in relations between his family and the Marcos family, who had previously joined forces to run the Philippines.</p><p>President Marcos and Vice President <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/vp-sara-duterte-arrives-in-amsterdam-proceeds-to-the-hague-0700">Sara Duterte</a> – Rodrigo&#x27;s daughter – are at loggerheads, with the latter facing an impeachment trial over charges including an <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/25/marcos-on-vp-sara-duterte-s-kill-threat-yan-ay-aking-papalagan-1337">alleged assassination plot against Marcos.</a></p><p>Sara Duterte is in The Netherlands to support her father, after labelling his arrest &quot;oppression and persecution&quot;, with the Duterte family having sought an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court to stop his transfer.</p><p>Marcos, asked Tuesday what he would say to Duterte supporters, said the government was &quot;just doing its job&quot;.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/14/palace-flags-duterte-camp-for-fake-news-surrounding-icc-arrest-1356">Palace flags &#x27;fake news&#x27; on Duterte arrest</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>VILLARS BACK DUTERTE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, Former Senate President Manny Villar, his wife Sen.  Cynthia Villar, and their son Sen. Mark Villar have come out with statements of support for ex-President Duterte.</p><p>Cynthia Villar disagreed with the government&#x27;s decision to surrender Duterte to the ICC, saying: &quot;We don&#x27;t give our former president to the foreigners.&quot;</p><p>Mark Villar, who served as Duterte&#x27;s Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary, posted pictures of himself with the former leader, while recalling their time together and praying for fairness for Duterte.</p><p>&quot;Mr President, I hope that you are in good health and being treated well. I’m sad that your simple wish to be judged by the Filipino people did not reach fruition. I continue to pray that you will be given the fairness and compassion that all Filipinos deserve,&quot; Mark Villar said.</p><p>Manny Villar said he had hoped that Duterte could have had “the opportunity to defend himself in our courts under the protection of our country’s rule of law.”</p><p>“I spent years protecting Filipinos overseas when they were charged abroad. That is why it was painful to see a very good friend, a former President who dedicated himself to public service, a Filipino citizen, being taken and charged by a foreign entity,&quot; he said.  </p><p>Duterte&#x27;s <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/13/former-philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-to-appear-before-icc-on-march-14-1507">first appearance at the International Criminal Court</a> has been set for Friday. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/14/palace-government-paid-for-private-plane-to-bring-duterte-to-netherlands-1403">Palace: Government paid for private plane to bring Duterte to Netherlands</a></div><div><strong>— With reports from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News; Agence France-Presse </strong></div>

<p>Sen. Imee Marcos on Tuesday skipped a campaign sortie led by her brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and criticized the arrest of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.</p>

Sen. Imee Marcos on Tuesday skipped a campaign sortie led by her brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and criticized the arrest of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.