Imee Marcos skipping Alyansa campaign rallies for now

Sen. Imee Marcos said on Friday, March 21, 2025, that she will skip the campaign rallies of the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas for now to focus on the Senate inquiry she is leading on the controversial arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Imee Marcos is skipping the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ campaign rallies for now to focus her attention on her Senate inquiry into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial arrest and transfer to The Hague, Netherlands by the government.

“Ang mahalaga sa akin ay tutukan ang kaso ng pagtangay sa isang kapwa Pilipino na isinuko ng ating pamahalaan sa isang banyagang institusyon sa ibang bansa,” Marcos said in a statement on Friday.

(What’s important to me is to focus on the case of a Filipino whom we surrendered by the Philippine government to a foreign institution.)

“Pagkat sa kabila ng kampanya at pulitika, napakahalaga nito para sa ating mga kababayan, ang ating OFWs at sa ating mga batas,” said the senator, who is seeking reelection in May and running under the senatorial slate of her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

(Because amid campaign and politics, this is important for our countrymen, OFWs, and our laws.)

According to the senator, a staunch supporter of the Duterte and his family, this case is about the former president and Philippine sovereignty.

Asked if this means that she will not attend the administration-backed Alyansa rallies, she answered in the affirmative.

Marcos, as chair of the Senate foreign affairs committee, began on Wednesday an inquiry into Duterte’s controversial arrest by authorities who then flew him to The Hague in the Netherlands to face trial before the International Criminal Court.

READ: Duterte’s ICC arrest: Separating fact from lies

The Senate inquiry led by Marcos sought to confirm that “all measures were taken to protect” Duterte’s rights under domestic laws and international treaties.

The former president was arrested on March 11, 2025 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his return from Hong Kong based on a warrant issued by the ICC that charged him with crimes against humanity related to his administration’s anti-drug campaign.

Shortly after his arrest, Duterte was transported to The Hague, Netherlands to face the charges before the international court.