‘No betrayal’ on part of Marcos over Duterte’s arrest, Palace says

President Marcos did not betray anyone for letting his administration help in the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte over crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his administration’s bloody war on drugs, Malacañang said.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro pointed out that Marcos cannot give special treatment to an accused as such move would mean betrayal of the law and the victims of extrajudicial killings.

“Ang betrayal po sa isang tao kung siya naman po ay naakusahan, hindi po ito masasabing isang issue. Mas dapat po na ang Pangulo, ang gobyerno ay hindi nagbe-betray sa batas. Hindi siya nagbe-betray kung ano ang interes ng bansa. Hindi dapat siya nagbe-betray sa mga taong diumanong naging biktima ng EJK (A betrayal on someone accused is not an issue. The President, the government, should not betray the law. He should not betray the interest of the country. He should not betray the alleged victims of EJK),” Castro said.

The Palace official made the statement after Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa lamented that he was “feeling betrayed” over Marcos’ move to cooperate with the Interpol to pursue the former president.

Castro underscored that just because Marcos knows someone or has been friends with someone, he will offer a special treatment. Not when someone needs to be held liable for alleged crimes, she added.

“Kung kailangang managot, dapat managot (If they have to be held accountable, they should be),” Castro said.

The Palace official also said there was no letter sent by Marcos to Vice President Sara Duterte, assuring her that he will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the case against his predecessor.

Same scenario for next Interpol arrests

In case a warrant of arrest from the ICC is again coursed through the Interpol, the government will cooperate, the same way it worked with the Interpol on Duterte’s arrest.

As for Dela Rosa’s case, Castro said, the same scenario will take place.

“Pareho pa rin po. Hindi po kasi tayo pwedeng mamili (It would still be the same. We should not choose),” Castro said when asked if the government will provide the same assistance to the Interpol in case a new arrest warrant is released.

“Hindi po tayo pwedeng mamili, wala pong pwedeng special treatment. So, kung mangyayari po ito sa iba pang suspect na may warrant of arrest, basta valid po yung warrant of arrest at ito po ay nai-course through the Interpol, gagawin pa rin po natin kung ano ang dapat gawin ng gobyerno (We are not allowed to choose, there should be no special treatment. So, if this happens again to other suspect with warrant of arrest, as long as it is valid and coursed through the Interpol, the government will still do what it has to do),” Castro noted.

Castro said the Palace is also confident that the Senate will not “coddle or hide” Dela Rosa should he ask for the Senate’s protection later on.

“Hindi ko po alam kung ano ang magiging sagot ni ni Senate President patungkol diyan, hanggang saan yung protection na kanyang maibibigay kung may warrant of arrest. Abogado naman po si Senate President, alam naman po niya kung ito ay valid at pwede niya po na ikumpirma kung valid ang warrant of arrest. Hindi naman po niya siguro ikakalong o itatago ang masasabing suspect sa isang International Criminal Court (I have no idea what the Senate President would say about that, to what extent the protection he would offer if there would be warrant of arrest. The Senate President is a lawyer, he knows if the arrest warrant is valid and he can also confirm it. He won’t be coddling or hiding a suspect tagged by the ICC),” she said.