Admin Senate bets quiet on ICC issue may be wary backlash — expert

Harlene Delgado

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Senatorial bets who have been quiet about former President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s arrest and trial before the International Criminal Court may be avoiding taking a stance out of fear of losing some supporters.</p><p>Professor Aries Arugay of the University of the Philippines - Diliman Department of Political Science noted that some senatorial candidates of the administration slate may be avoiding the &#x27;hyperpartisan&#x27; issue.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;ll have to see, may magsasabi na baka lumakas &#x27;yung mga Duterte-endorsed candidates, baka humina &#x27;yung mga nasa administration,&quot; he said in a forum Sunday, March 16.</p><p>(There are some who are saying Duterte-endorsed candidates may gain and administration candidates may take a hit because of this)</p><p>He said that risk may be why administration candidates have kept silent on the issue, which he described as very polarizing.</p><p>&quot;They fear that if they side with what we see, they will move some of their support because the other side will abandon supporting them,&quot; Arugay noted. </p><p>Arugay said the potential effect of Duterte&#x27;s arrest on senatorial bets&#x27; standing will only be seen in surveys that will be conducted starting this week, adding the possibility of &#x27;increased sympathy&#x27; for Duterte and his candidates cannot be discounted.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/16/senate-bets-seek-student-support-at-up-youth-forum-0851">Senate bets seek student support at UP youth forum<br/></a></div><p>&quot;For the Duterte-endorsed candidates, hindi na sila &#x27;yung naghe-hedge eh, hindi na sila &#x27;yung gumigitna no and it seems like a viable strategy for them but unfortunately nga, &#x27;yung break-up ng UniTeam, &#x27;yun &#x27;yung parang bigger political context that will define the midterm elections,&quot; he noted.</p><p>(For the Duterte-endorsed canddiates, they will not have to hedge and stay in the middle and it seems like a viable strategy for them, but, unfortunately, the breakup of the UniTea, is the bigger political context that will define the midterm elections.)</p><p>Amid these, the professor emphasized that Duterte&#x27;s arrest is a “basic political issue of accountability&quot;. </p><p>Arugay hopes that following the arrest of the former president, the government will now focus on what needs to be done to promote the interest of Filipinos “rather than engage in political infighting”.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/14/imee-skips-bongbong-marcos-led-campaign-sortie-rejects-duterte-arrest-1504">Imee skips Bongbong Marcos-led campaign sortie, rejects Duterte arrest<br/></a></div><div><strong>CALLS MOUNT FOR RETURN TO ICC</strong></div><p>In a related development, former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares on Sunday called on the government to rejoin the International Criminal Court.</p><p>Colmenares said the move to rejoin ICC would show &quot;the government&#x27;s genuine commitment to upholding human rights and ending the culture of impunity.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/house-leaders-say-ph-should-consider-rejoining-icc-1921">House leaders say PH should consider rejoining ICC</a></div><p>&quot;Rejoining the ICC would be a decisive step toward ensuring justice for the thousands of victims of extrajudicial killings and their families,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;The ICC preliminary hearing demonstrated what genuine justice mechanisms look like. The proceedings were fair, direct, and focused on the objectives of the hearing without being derailed by diversionary tactics,&quot; the Bayan Muna chairman said.</p><p>Colmenares pointed out how the ICC handled the proceedings, noting the manifestations of Duterte lawyer Salvador Medialdea despite the preliminary nature of the hearing.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/11/12/minority-senators-call-on-ph-government-to-rejoin-icc-1345">Minority senators call on PH government to rejoin ICC</a></div><p>Human Rights Watch senior researcher Carlos Conde on Saturday said going back to the ICC while also pursuing domestic investigations into drug war killings is the only &quot;logical move&quot; for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. </p><p>&quot;If hindi sila magte-take ng steps to kumbaga re-ratify the Rome Statue na nag-create ng ICC, magiging hungkag lang ang mga ito. Lalo tuloy mapapatunayan ng mga tao na supporter ni Duterte na ito ay pulitika lang. Hindi dapat hanggang dito lang ang gagawin ni Mr. Marcos,&quot; Conde said.</p><p>(This will be meaningless if they won&#x27;t take steps to re-ratify the Rome Statue that created the ICC. It would only prove to Duterte supporters that this was only politicized. This should not be the last move of Mr. Marcos.)</p><p>Malacañang said Saturday the hearing was fair, especially since the ICC upholds human rights.</p><p>ICC Judge Iulia Motoc set the confirmation of charges hearing, the next step of the process, on September 23,2025.</p><p>Motoc did not grant the motions of Duterte&#x27;s counsel to postpone the hearing to next week.</p><p>According to ICC rules, a suspect can request for interim release at the initial hearing.</p><p>The court will decide after the initial hearing whether it will push with the trial, which could take several months or even years. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xPb4FMfGbos?&amp;t=28s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Professor Aries Arugay of the University of the Philippines - Diliman Department of Political Science noted that some senatorial candidates of the administration slate may be avoiding the 'hyperpartisan' issue.</p>

Professor Aries Arugay of the University of the Philippines - Diliman Department of Political Science noted that some senatorial candidates of the administration slate may be avoiding the 'hyperpartisan' issue.

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Admin Senate bets quiet on ICC issue may be wary of backlash — expert

Admin Senate bets quiet on ICC issue may be wary of backlash — expert

Harlene Delgado,

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 16, 2025 03:19 PM PHT

|

Updated Mar 16, 2025 04:03 PM PHT

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Neri Colmenares

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