Senate legal team to study issuance of subpoena for Duterte arrest probe

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero (File photo from SENATE PUBLIC RELATIONS AND INFORMATION BUREAU)

MANILA, Philippines — The legal team of the Senate is reviewing the proposed issuance of a subpoena to the Senate panel on foreign relations’ resource persons.

This is in light of the cabinet members’ invocation of the executive privilege.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said this review is meant to avert the possibility of a constitutional crisis.

Speaking to reporters in a press conference on Thursday, the Senate chief said he had actually signed a subpoena summoning Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon and an unidentified Philippine Air Force general to the second hearing on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest.

He signed the document upon the request of Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Senate committee on foreign relations.

After the Palace declined the invitation to the officials of the executive branch, by invoking executive privilege, Escudero said he had decided to refer the matter to the Senate legal department instead of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms.

“[Although] at that time, I had already signed the subpoena for those two requests by Senator Imee,” Escudero recalled in Filipino.

“So, instead of referring it to the OSAA, we sent it to the Senate legal team to study the effects of invoking executive privilege in relation to the subpoena I signed,” he told reporters.

“The last thing I want to happen, in the middle of the ongoing mess in the country, is to add another issue by triggering a constitutional crisis in relation to a subpoena on one side, and the other part is the invocation of the executive privilege. That’s why I have decided, although I am a lawyer, to refer it to our legal team for proper recommendation,” he added.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the Palace had decided to “respectfully decline” the invitation to attend the April 3 hearing of the Senate panel being presided by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ sister.

Malacañang had cited executive privilege and the sub judice rule as reasons.

This response did not sit well, however, with the presidential sister, Senator Marcos.

She appealed to the Palace for a reconsideration.

She particularly asked Bersamin to allow the invited Cabinet members to attend the panel hearing.

In a letter dated April 1, the senator said she finds none of the justifications provided by Bersamin sufficient to ban the appearance of the executive officials in the proceedings.