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Senate President Chiz Escudero and Sen. Imee Marcos. Maria Tan/Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1744331719867chiz-imee.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Senate President Chiz Escudero and Sen. Imee Marcos. Maria Tan/Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — Senate President Francis Escudero on Friday urged Sen. Imee Marcos to “refrain from using the Senate as a platform for her own personal political objectives” as she led a probe into  former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest.</p><p>&quot;I urge Senator Marcos to refrain from using the Senate as a platform for her own personal political objectives and to instead use her name, title, and influence as a bridge toward unity, not a wedge for division. Our people and our country expect and deserve no less,&quot; Escudero said.</p><p>Escudero said he would not allow the Senate nor the Office of the Senate President to be used to further petty partisan interests, &quot;especially by those actively seeking reelection in coming May midterm polls.”</p><p>“The Senate is an institution of reason and rule; it is not a tool to be leveraged for propaganda or self-promotion,&quot; he said.</p><p>Escudero made the statement after Marcos sought to detain Special Envoy Markus Lacanilao for allegedly lying to the panel investigating Duterte’s arrest. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/10/senators-gov-t-execs-clash-on-duterte-flight-to-icc-1836">Senators, gov&#x27;t execs clash on Duterte flight to ICC</a></div><p>Lacanilao was with Duterte on the plane that brought him to the Netherlands, where the International Criminal Court is headquartered.</p><p>Lacanilao was detained in the Senate on Thursday on a contempt citation by Marcos. But he was released hours later because Escudero did not sign the order. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/10/senate-panel-cites-special-envoy-in-contempt-for-allegedly-lying-at-duterte-arrest-probe-1859">Senate panel cites special envoy in contempt for allegedly lying at Duterte arrest probe</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHY ESCUDERO DID NOT SIGN ORDER</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Escudero said the detention order for Lacanilao did not comply with due process.</p><p>&quot;For the record, I did not refuse to sign the contempt order of Ambassador Markus Lacanilao. Senator Marcos released her statement and flaunted to the media her signed arrest and detention order even before I could see, much less, receive a copy of it,&quot; Escudero said.</p><p>&quot;Ambassador Lacanilao was ordered detained without the requisite approval and due process. No less than Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo has succinctly pointed out in his concurring opinion in the Ong case that witnesses accused by Congress of ‘giving false or evasive testimony’ must be accorded stricter due process requirements, none of which was apparently accorded to Ambassador Lacanilao before he was ordered detained.&quot;</p><p>Escudero said that the Senate President&#x27;s signature on a detention order is not ministerial, but rather, a safeguard to ensure due process.</p><p>&quot;For reasons unknown, Senator Imee Marcos appears to have disregarded this longstanding rule or conveniently forgotten it that the approval of the Senate President is not automatic nor ministerial simply because she desires it,&quot; Escudero said.</p><p>&quot;All members of the Senate are fully aware that under the Rules of the Senate, the power of a committee chairperson to order the arrest or detention of any resource person cited in contempt is subject to the approval of the Senate President. This safeguard exists to ensure that the powers of the Senate are exercised prudently with due regard for the rights of all and not wielded for personal or political ends.&quot;</p><p>Escudero said that after several hours of Lacanilao’s “unauthorized detention,” he authorized the Palace official’s release “both as a matter of regularity and out of humanitarian consideration as his grandfather is to be laid to rest today.”</p><p>Escudero scored Marcos for Thursday&#x27;s incident.</p><p>&quot;Senator Marcos says that this episode sets a terrible precedent, and I concur, but for different reasons. I believe it is a dangerous precedent to allow senators to flout the Senate’s own rules for personal gain,&quot; Escudero said.</p><p>“For when procedures meant to safeguard due process and institutional integrity are ignored for media mileage or political ambition, that is when the credibility of the Senate is threatened,” he said. </p><p>Marcos has yet to reply to ABS-CBN News&#x27; request for comment. </p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FImeeMarcos%2Fposts%2Fpfbid037VScFXThVLoxC1WE66m1VYFxe2eUmwqFxM59qK3Dsf7vG35sYuMFMdppr47C5saSl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="667" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>SHOW CAUSE ORDER</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Escudero added that “in order to comply with the requisites of due process”, he would issue on Friday a “show cause order” for Lacanilao to explain within 5 days why he should not be cited in contempt as requested by Marcos.</p><p>“I shall decide on whether or not to sign his arrest/detention only thereafter,&quot; Escudero said.</p><p>&quot;The public we serve can rest assured that I will review the committee proceedings and that I will exercise my duty and discretion in accordance with the law to determine their propriety devoid of political agenda or motivation, and with the best interest of our people, country, and the Senate as an institution in mind,&quot; he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bA-OsZQNaGY" title="Bato, Imee trace who ordered Duterte flight to ICC; Remulla protests &#x27;bullying&#x27;" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vgjSBu2fcYM" title="LIVE: Senate resumes Hearing on the involvement of ICC, Interpol in Duterte&#x27;s Arrest | April 10" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Senate President Francis Escudero on Friday urged Sen. Imee Marcos to “refrain from using the Senate as a platform for her own personal political objectives” as she led a probe into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest.</p>

Senate President Francis Escudero on Friday urged Sen. Imee Marcos to “refrain from using the Senate as a platform for her own personal political objectives” as she led a probe into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest.

Escudero tells Imee Marcos: Don’t use Duterte arrest probe for ‘personal political objectives’

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Escudero tells Imee Marcos: Don’t use Duterte arrest probe for ‘personal political objectives’

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 11, 2025 08:40 AM PHT

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