Marcos administration's senatorial bets feel effects of Duterte arrest

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA - President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr&#x27;s senatorial candidates under his Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas Banner say their campaign has been affected by the chief executive&#x27;s decision to surrender predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court for trial over alleged crimes against humanity.Panfilo Lacson  and Erwin Tulfo urged sobriety, while Abby Binay and Ben Hur Abalos told voters not to make Duterte&#x27;s arrest the single biggest issue that decides their vote.&quot;Siyempre merong epekto, kasi hindi natin maikakaila na marami ‘ring taga suporta si President Duterte, rightly or wrongly, s&#x27;yempre nandoon yung kanilang sentimiento para sa kanya,&quot; said Lacson.&quot;But tayo naman, instead na tumulong tayong mag escalate, makadagdag pa tayo sa mag escalate &#x27;yung divisiveness, mas maganda siguro tumulong na lang tayo para mag deescalate, kasi nandiyan na yan.&quot;Lacson said that Duterte has strong following in Visayas and Mindanao. But regarding the legality of Duterte&#x27;s case in the ICC,  he said, only time will tell.&quot;Hindi ‘yan masasagot ngayon. Yung history books na ang magsasabi diyan, saka pa lang malalaman kung tama o mali pagdating ng takdang panahon. Yung takdang panahon na ‘yon, hindi yun ngayon,&quot; he said.Tulfo, for his part, said Duterte should be afforded legal help from the government because he is still a Filipino. &quot;Masasabi ko lamang po then, the former president is still a Filipino ‘di po ba? So, dapat ho bigyan pa rin siya ng tulong ng gobyerno natin. Parang yung inyong pamilya sa abroad kinikilala ng gobyerno. So why shouldn’t we still accord the same treatment to this person,&quot; he said.&quot;Pangalawa po, the point is sabi na rin ng ICC former President Rodrigo Duterte remains innocent until proven guilty... Hayaan na natin yung korte, huwag po tayong. Lahat naman po tayo ay mga miron.&quot; For Binay, she said that being administration candidates, they are forced to take sides.&quot;Ano ba ang tinatayuan namin? Hindi ho pupwedeng kasi nakadikit ka dito or ayaw ko sa ’yo. It reminds me of RH bill, it’s either you are pro RH or pro-life. Parang ganyang ‘yong nangyari sa RH Bill noong dinidinig ‘yong RH Bill. It is beyond that, hindi naman ho kami, yes we are part of the administration, but we are individuals in a group,&quot; she said.&quot;So, sana naman po doon sa mga botante, we are not talking about pro-Marcos ka ba or pro-Duterte ka, kung pink ka ba, kung dilaw ka ba, kung green ka ba, kung red ka ba, at the end of the day ang gusto po natin, tama nga po si Sen. Erwin, ano ba ang pwede naming ibigay sa mga kababayan po natin? ‘Wag po masyadong simplistic.&quot;<div>&#x27;NO-WIN QUESTION&#x27;</div>Vicente Sotto III said it&#x27;s a no-win question for them. &quot;Walang tama o mali na response d’yan. Alam mo ang pinakamagandang response d’yan is not to respond. Kasi kahit anong sabihin mo d’yan mayroong magpipintas sayo,&quot; he said.&quot;And so as of now ‘yan ang magandang pag-usapan pa sapagkat wala naman tayong magagawa doon sa issue na tinatanong ninyo. Ano ‘yan no win perspective ‘yan, I assure you.&quot;  Francis Tolentino and Lacson agreed with Tulfo regarding the government&#x27;s duty to aid Duterte.&quot;As a member of the Senate right now I would have to personally commend our Embassy in The Hague for the efforts done and for following the mandate of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by providing the necessary assistance to President Duterte,&quot; said Tolentino.Tolentino also noted Duterte&#x27;s legal options. &quot;Third, as a lawyer and I’m sure the former President has his own legal team there are avenues to be pursued. They can invoke Article 60 of the Rome Statute that can provide an interim release pending trial, bahala na ‘yong abogado niya. So ‘yan naman po ay may mga paraan kung pwedeng nakalagay po doon na kapag may edad na o may sakit pwedeng i-house arrest sa The Hague,&quot; he said.<div>REJOINING THE ICC</div>The candidates kept an open mind about the country rejoining the ICC after Duterte pulled out the country during his term. &quot;Ako, personal ito opinyon. Nasagot ko na rin ito dati. Yung International Criminal Court is the global court for the powerless. Meaning, court of last resort. Yung kanilang general jurisdiction, ito yung nag-deal sa mga war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity. Doon naka-focus yung kanilang jurisdiction,&quot; said Lacson.&quot;Halimbawang ma-invade tayo ng ibang bansa without referring to any particular country. Baka kung hindi tayo miyembro, hindi tayo maka-seek ng regress o hindi tayo makapag complaint kasi hindi tayo recognized kung sakaling mayroon mga war crimes na na-commit dito ng bansang, hypothetical ito na mag-invade. So, ako ang personal opinion ko we should rejoin. And I limit my answer to my personal opinion.&quot;Tolentino said it&#x27;s a matter for the 20th Congress Senate to decide.Sotto believes the Senate should have had a say in Duterte&#x27;s pullout of the country from the ICC. &quot;Ako sa akin may mas magandang issue na dapat talakayin natin. Ano ang sabi ng Supreme Court nung umaangal kami sa Senate na dapat kapag ang isang treaty binawi ng pangulo dapat ira-ratify din ng Senado muna dahil ni-ratify nila for confirmation. Naniniwala kami noon noong nasa Senado ako lalo na nung Senate President ako na dapat kapag ni-ratify namin at gusto nating bumitaw dapat kami rin ang bibitaw. Ganoon ‘yong thinking ko,&quot; he said.<div>PUBLIC CONSULTATION</div>For Tulfo, it is good to hold a public consultation regarding the matter.&quot;Sa akin siguro, there should be public consultation to start with yung ating mambabatas, mga district lawmakers, senators before we have to talk about it, tackle it. Para we can hear the clamor of the public. Sino bang may gusto? SInong hindi? So that we would know. Mahirap lang po, actually we are representative of the people. So, we want to hear your voices,&quot; Tulfo said.Alyansa&#x27;s campaign manager, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco however maintained they remain focused on their campaign priorities. &quot;Ang alyansa ay nananatiling nakatutok doon sa araw-araw na mga suliranin ng ating mga kababayan tulad ng trabaho, pangkabuhayan. So, ayun po ang pinapaliwanag ng alyansa at ‘yun po ang tinututukan natin, hindi po tayo dapat mawalan ng focus dahil ‘yun po ang mga suliranin na dapat resolbahan para guminhawa ang buhay ng ating mga kababayan,&quot; he said.&quot;With regards with surveys, ‘yan po ay maganda doon sa legitimate na surveys, nakikita po natin kung ano yung dapat areas na i-improve natin para mas gumanda po at mas marami sa ating mga kandidato ang makapasok doon sa Magic 12. So, pinagaaral po natin yung legitimate surveys to give us a guide, kasi yung survey is a snapshot of what was yesterday, kung ano nung nakaraan, nung kinunan yung surveys. Pero meron pa tayong higit na 60 days para mag-adjust, so kung ano po yung necessary adjustments, of course it’s not only up to me, I also consult our candidates kung ano sa tingin nila yung mas mabuti para mas malaman ng ating mga kababayan yung plataporma ng bawat kandidato.&quot;

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr's senatorial candidates under his Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas Banner say their campaign has been affected by the chief executive's decision to surrender predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court.

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr's senatorial candidates under his Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas Banner say their campaign has been affected by the chief executive's decision to surrender predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court.

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Marcos administration's senatorial bets feel effects of Duterte arrest

Marcos administration's senatorial bets feel effects of Duterte arrest

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 14, 2025 07:00 PM PHT

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ICC

Rodrigo Duterte

Senatoriables

Ferdinand Marcis Jr.

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