File impeach raps vs Bongbong over Duterte’s arrest, Panelo dares Imee
Sen. Imee Marcos and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. —Photos from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau and the Facebook page of Bongbong Marcos
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Imee Marcos should file an impeachment complaint against his brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., for what she called constitutional violations made during the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Salvador Panelo, Duterte’s former presidential spokesperson and chief legal counsel, made the dare to the senator on Thursday.
Imee Marcos left President Marcos-backed slate of the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, citing Duterte’s arrest, but this was not enough for Panelo.
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“If what the government did was wrong, and the head of this government is his brother, file an impeachment against your brother because that is a culpable violation of the Constitution,” Panelo said in Filipino in a media forum in Manila.
“Of course, she won’t do that — because she’s in a masquerade [“balat-kayo”], he added.
The senator said the actions taken by her brother’s administration, including allowing Duterte’s arrest, “run counter to my ideals and principles.”
Duterte, who will celebrate his 80th birthday on March 28, was the chief architect of the drug war that claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official government data.
But human rights watchdogs and the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) estimate the death toll to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019, noting that many of these incidents were extrajudicial killings.
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Duterte was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday, March 11, and detained at Villamor Air Base the same day. He was flown on a chartered flight to The Hague, arriving the following day. He is currently being held at the ICC Detention Centre.
The former president had his pretrial hearing on March 14. His confirmation of charges is scheduled for September 23, and he may appeal for an interim release before that date.
